


Marco's Future Kids

by Dr_Unicorn



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Death, Gravity Falls - Freeform, Marco has feelings for Star, Morningmark's Ship War AU, Multi, Non-binary character, Star doesn't return his feelings, a little swearing, but only later in the story, everyone has a crush on marco, many OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-04-26 08:38:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14398353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Unicorn/pseuds/Dr_Unicorn
Summary: Seven kids each from a different timeline. All with the same goal: To save their timeline from being erased from existence. However there is a small problem: the fact that six of them have the same father, Marco Diaz, but different other parents. To ensure their survival they must get him to date the other parent. This results in plenty of mischeif and causes Marco to get some terrible headaches. But that will be the least of his worries when the lives of others and the multiverse are put at stake.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Star vs. the Forces of Evil belongs to Daron Nefcy, Elizabeth Jam belong to Morningmark and his Ship War AU. I only own Nyx, Linnie, Landon, Fiametta , and Will.

  Today was a fine day in Mewni. In the Butterfly royal castle, it was a celebration. In the royal ballroom, guests milled about, laughing, eating, and talking among each other. Long party banners decorated the room, all of them had the same words: Happy Quinceñera Star!" A mariachi band played music foreign to the Mewman's and monster's ears. Mountains upon mountains of natchos and rainbow cake were placed on every table. As many as they were, none of them lasted long. They were quickly consumed by the partygoers who simply couldn't get enough of them.

  Food? Check. People having fun? Check. Decorations not destroyed yet? Check. Seems like everythings going well. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had a few doubts since the incident with the Great stump the other day. I wanted Star to have the best quinceñera possible, and I worked so hard on the party. Star wanted to have a large, Earth style celebration. She also wanted to invite all of her friends, including monsters, much to her parents dismay.

  I currently didn't have anything to do. Everything looked fine. Being a party host sure is difficult. It's like I have to be everywhere all at once. But now, I had some free time. I wanted to make the best of it. I searched the room of something to do.

  Through all the partygoers, I spotted a blonde figure in a poofy blue dress, chatting with a group of friends at the side of the room. Star! She was eating rainbow cake and talking with her buddies with frevor. She looked happy, surrounded by her friends and relatives in her party. I approached her and her friends eagerly. "Star, how's the party?"

  She turned to look at me, her bright smile lighting up the room. "The party's GREAT Marco! With all the decorations and the nachos and our friends all here today, this day could'nt get any better!" Her friends nodded in agreement.

  "Thanks!" I said. I wanted to chat, spend the party with her, but before I could do that, a crash was heard somewhere in the crowd. I looked over my shoulder to see what used to be punch bowl on the floor, now reduced to a wet, glassy rubble. A few bashful looking mewmans stood a few feet away from the mess. Again? This is the third time this has happened. I promptly excused myself to clean up the mess.

  I swept up the shards of glass, with the help of a helpful castle servant. When the wreckage has been removed and the punch bowl replaced, I heard some muffled shouting. I realized that the shouting was coming from the door to the hallway. I could make out a few sentences, however, the wooden door blocked much of the sound. I approached the door and listened.

  A guy's voice. "-are you doing it?!"

  A more feminine voice. "Because he told me to fix the anomaly!" Their voices were raised and angry. They seemed to be having a nasty argument. I opened the door and saw two teenagers glaring daggers at each other, both with clenched fists. One was a girl who looked around fourteen, with long hair and wearing a teal dress. The other was a boy, and he looked a little older. His appearance was rugged, and looked as if he came straight out of a zombie survival movie. They both were brunettes, and wore hiking boots.

  The two froze. Their heads whipped towards me, eyes wide in suprise. I didn't know either of them, and I don't know why they were arguing or what they came here for, other than to argue. I raised an eyebrow at them. "Hey, what's going on here?"

  They paused for a moment. Then, the boy spoke. "Greetings fa- sir." He seemed suprised to see me. He wore the look of recognition on his face.

  "Uh, hello. Who are you?" I said, hoping I sounded polite.

  "I'm Jam and she is..." He looked expectantly at her.

  "Elizabeth. We uh," She paused, pondering for a moment. "Came for the party!"

  "The party?" I thought that all the guests had come already. If they are, then they're very late. "Are you friends of Star?"

  "Yes! Sort of?" She said hesitantly, as if thinking of words.

  "They're with me, Diaz." A girl in a green beanie appeared from behind me. She moved past me and wrapped her arms around Jam's shoulders. Jam looked suprised, and he leaned a little further away. She looked at him slyly, yet a little flirtatiously. I knew that look: Janna has found another victim. Another victim to her creepy attempts at romance.

  "Okaaay... Welcome to the party." I let them into the party, despite them not being invited. Well, the more the merrier.

  Janna whisked them away to the party. I secretly wished them good luck. They'll need it. I decided to double check everything again, just in case. It never hurts to be safe. Though, after a while of hanging out with Star, I was never as safe as I was before, and I constantly find myself in danger and taking risks.

  I checked everything, and eveything is fine. I spotted Star serving herself another huge slice of rainbow cake. I'm glad she likes it; it took hours just to get it right. I currently don't have anything to do, so I decided to strike a conversation with her. "Hey Star."

  She turned to look at me, a smile on her face. "Hi Marco! This cake is the BOMB! It's so great and delicious, I wish I could have it everyday." She said, with a whistfullness in her eyes.

  I laughed at her enthusiasm. "Thanks Star. I'm glad you like it."

  "No no no Marco. I should be thanking you. Throwing a suprise party for me, especially after the Stump incident, it's really thoughtful. The effort you put into making this party great reminds me how lucky I am to have a friend like you. So, thank you, Marco." She said this, her eyes and voice filled with sincerity and gratitude. I didn't expect this, and my heart soared. I felt the heat rising to my face.

  I rubbed my nape and smiled bashfully. Oh God, I hope she doesn't see me blush. "Oh, wow Star, I'm thankful to have a friend like you too." It was true, we're best friends.

  But she'll never think of me as anything more.

  That thought has constatly bugged me everytime I think of making a move on her. Besides, she already has a boyfriend and she has clearly moved on from her crush on me before. Despite this, I still hold hope that one day, I may hold her hands, and call her my girlfriend. Or my wife.

  'Gah! Marco, gat a hold of yourself!' I silently scolded myself.

  We talked throughout the day, and chatted with other people too. Time flew by, and the sun dissapeared into the horizon, the inky night carpeting the sky. It was late, and the party was coming to a close. People left the party until only a few of our friends from school stayed. Star told the castle staff to cook dinner for everyone. As the party was ending, she asked me "Marco, who are those?"

  I looked at the direction she was looking at and saw Jam and Elizabeth, who were talking to a horned girl with reddish-brown hair. Elizabeth was now wearing one of my hoodies and my Dr. Marco phd. glasses. Why are people always stealing my hoodies? "Oh, they are friends of Janna. I don't recognise the readhead though."

  Star seemed satisfied with that. Janna was always full of suprises. "I'm going to say hi to them. I'll see you at dinner!" She walked enthusiastically towards the trio, excited to make new friends.

  During dinner, traditional Mewnian food was served in heaping piles on the plates. The food was mostly composed of corn stuff. Everyone was seated in the royal dining table, enjoying the food. Many of my friends looked flabberghasted at the food made almost completely out of corn. It wasn't suprising, the Mewnian corn was sweeter and more flavorful compared to corn on Earth. There's a variety of different Mewnian corn, and the flavors varied between breeds. They have mintcorn, wheat corn, southern sun corn, and even spicy corn! It made for some really good food.

  I heared scraping beside me. Star pulled out a chair sat and made herself comfortable. "Hey Marco!"

  "Hey Star." I saw beside her was Jam, Elizabeth, the redhead, and a new teal haired person. The teal haired kid looked similar to Kelly, with teal hair but cut short. The person was * _gasp!_ * wearing one of my hoodies. Why does everyone keep stealing my hoodies? "Who's the redhead and the one wearing my hoodie?"

  "Oh! The redhead's name is Fiametta, she's really nice!" She said, pointing a thumb at her. "She also looks kinda like you. And your mom. I think you and her might be related somehow..." she though aloud.

  I snuck a closer look at her. Looking at her now, I can see how similar we look. Her face, her appearance, it's a strong resembelance. She looked like Mom, but younger and with horns.

  Star countinued. "The one wearing your hoodie... Well, Elizabeth, Fiametta, and Linnie are all wearing your hoodie."

  Elizabeth, Seraph, and Linnie. I don't recognise Linnie, so I'm guessing Linnie is the new person. "Linnie's the one with short green hair right?"

  Star nodded. I looked closely at him or her, noticing that they don't look like a girl or a boy. "Um, Star, is Linnie a boy or a girl?"

  "I'm not sure, but they told me to call them they instead of he or she. I think that they may be neither, or something in between." She said.

  I've never heard of people being something other than a girl or a boy. But after seeing multiple dimensions, I know that some creatures tend to have genders different from the human norm. And I've heard some people aren't simply girls or boys? Or maybe Linnie isn't a human?

  I ate up the last of my corn. When everyone else finished, Star proposed that we can have a movie marathon and sleepover in her room. Of course, everybody was delighted and agreed. Elizabeth, Jam, Fiametta, and Linnie however, left abruptly. Maybe they were busy. Or perhaps Jam was too conscious of all the girls giving him lovestruck looks. He did garner many of the ladies' attention.

  The movie marathon was great. I made some nachos for the marathon. We watched horror movies, Disney movies(Star loves Disney movies), and episodes of a famous show called Ducktective. Everyone was given pillows and blankets conjured from Star's wand. We watched the movies and shows, someone occaisionally providing commentary before they were shushed. It was quite pleasant. As the night flew by, more and more people fell asleep while watching. Feeling tired myself, I also wanted to sleep. However, my hoodie and face was smudged with natcho cheese and crumbs, and it really needs to be cleaned up.

  I got up and walked to the toilet, careful not to wake my sleeping friends. I walked down the hall, my footsteps echoing eerily in the dark, disturbing the silence. At night, the castle can be kinda creepy. After living here for a while, I got used to the dark. It's a little peaceful to me now, just walking down the hall, alone with my thoughts.

  As I went through the corridor, I passed a door that hadn't been there before. It was a plain wooden door, with a painting of a former Queen of Mewni in the center. That's strange. I remember that that painting should be bigger. Waaay bigger. It should be the about the same size as the door. And there should be no door. The door was slightly ajar, and I can hear a few people talking within. Suddenly, one of them said "We can't let Marco know about this."

  This stopped me in my tracks. What is it that I'm not allowed to know? Are they enemies of Mewni? I leaned closer the door. I know that I shouldn't be eavesdropping, but I'm curious now. Peeping inside through the crack, I saw seven figures sitting on couches and chairs around a coffee table. I recognised most of them as the people who didn't join the sleepover. They all looked like teenagers around my age. They sat on the fancy couches and chairs around a coffee table. The room had a Victorian era style, and looked very stylish.

  A guy with brown hair and horns said "We should let dad know about us! If he knows about us, he would want to save us, wouldn't he?"

  Silence swallowed the room. Then, Elizabeth spoke. "Will, I don't think that's the best option. If he knows about us now, the timeline will be changed." Her voice had a tone of mild worry. She was trying to reason with him.

  "Yeah, just by being here, we probably already changed the timeline." Jam said.

  "That was also my plan. Telling dad, that is." Says Linnie. So Linnie and the horned guy have the same dad. But they look so different from each other. They don't even look like the same species, let alone siblings.

  "Telling dad about us is a dumb idea." A black haired guy said. He looked impatient, and figeted with the ends of his flannel shirt. "What would we say to him? 'Oh hey Marco, we're your kids from multiple alternate future timelines that time travelled here.' Do you seriously think he will belives us?"

  My future children? I've thought about having children in the future before, maybe one or two, but I did'nt expect to meet them now! Maybe they're talking about another Marco. I mean, I can't be the only person named Marco right?

  Will spoke again. "Personally, I think he'll belive us! He's seen a lot of things before on his adventures!" He sounded unsure of himself as he said this. And a little bit agitated too.

  "C'mon guys, we shouldn't mess with the timeline too much. Will has a good point there, I'll admit, but it has a lot of problems. We shouldn't push our luck." Elizabeth reasoned.

  "And besides, Dad still has a crush on Auntie Star." Flannel guy said. How did he know? Why did he call Star auntie? Unless Star has another friend named Marco, I'm probably the Marco they're talking about.

  I tried to get a better look through the door gap. That moment, the scent of smoke hit my nose. I heard a fizzling sound before an angry, whooshing roar replaced it. The bitter smell of charring fire attacked my nostrils as a wave of heat rushed through the crack. I heard people shuffling and shouting in suprise. That's it. I'm going in.

  I jumped through the door, my hand the shape of a knife, ready for combat. The scene before me was absurd. A column of blue fire erupting from a couch, with Will's eyes glowing, arms outstretched, floating in the center of the fire. He looked kinda like Tom, with strange eye marks and horns. Elizabeth and Jam were posed for comabt, holding out a wand and a futuristic gun respectively, aimed at the pyromaniac. Fiammetta, Linnie, and two other people were watching the events unfold, too stunned to move.

  "Guys, stop!" I shouted. Everything stopped in its tracks. All the kids stared at me, startled by my dramatic entrance. The column of fire vanished immidiately, and Will's eyes faded to dark crimson. Jam and Elizabeth quickly put away their weapons as the pyrokinetic plopped uncerimoniously on the floor. The four others simply gawked at the scene unfolding.

  Elizabeth was stunned. Then she asked me "How much did you hear?"

  My eyes bore into hers. "I heard enough." The teenagers exchanged nervous glances. "What're all of you doing in the present?"

  The two of them were silent. Then Jam nudged Elizabeth with his elbow, mouthing the words 'tell him'. She complied grumpily. "We found an anomaly in this timeline which was caused by time travelling. Appearently, when Jam decided to try to stop the apocalypse, he ended up causing a time anomaly which made us time travel to see the problem. Now, we're stuck in this timeline because all of our timelines collided to this one." Said Elizabeth.

  "We need to find a way to change the timeline back to it's natural state. If we don't, then only one of our timlines will be able to exist in the end." Fiammetta said grimly. "Which only allows one of us to exist. And we all want to survive."

  Wow. Time travel sounds very dangerous. It's just like in the Hunger games movie I watched earlier, except it involves time travel and _hopefully_ less violence.

  I noticed that they looked lethargic and tired. "Do you need a place to stay? I'm sure Star wouldn't mind." I offered. The group perked up at my proposal.

  "Thanks Dad, we'd be delighted." Linnie said. The others seemed eager to get some sleep. It was getting rather late.

  I led them through the winding halls and to the numerous guest rooms. Living here made me memorize the castle layout. I know the castle like the back of my hand. They all slept in the largest room, which contained ten beds. I bid them goodnight and went to the bathroom to clean myself up before going to bed.

  I walked back to the bedroom and snuck past my snoozing friends as I approached my sleeping bag. I'm the only one awake. The days events exhausted me, and I tuck myself into bed. As I lay down, the blissful blanket of sleep over took me, washing away my stress and worries.

 

 

So this is how they look like:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic, and I hope you enjoyed it! As you can see, this story happens after the events of Stump day. The kids are unable to go back to their original timelines and have to find a way back. Please inform me of any errors, and give me some constructive cristicism. I'd like to hear your suggestions.


	2. Chapter 2: Fiametta's POV

I woke up and ate breakfast with everybody else. It was a little awkward at first, but after we introduced ourselves, we relaxed. Dad explained the situation to Star and she seemed fine with it, though a little confused. She even allowed us to stay in the castle for as long as we liked. We were all properly introduced to them and explained our reasons for being here. We seemed to be the only time travellers left, the last one being Nyx. After breakfast, we were free to explore the castle. I wanted to get to know the other people better, after all, they are my half siblings. Most of them left after eating, except for two of them. One was a boy with dark, bedhead hair wearing a red plaid shirt. He was a shortie and his eyes twinkled with mischief. The other was a teenager with chestnut skin and short, jungle green hair. They wore one of Dad's infamous hoodies over a shirt of the deepest shade of purple. They introduced themselves as Landon and Linnie during our introduction. They were talking about something. Knowing this may help me know more about me fellow half siblings, I joined in the conversation.

"Hi guys." I said. They both greeted me warmly.

"Hello! You're Fiammetta right? Linnie asked.

They held out their hand expectantly. I simply stared at it for a moment. What did they want me to do. Then it hit me: they want me to shake their hand! Human curtesy and such. I nodded and took their hand. "Yeah. You're Linnie right?"

"Yup! And this is Landon!" They exclaimed, gesturing to the boy next to them.

He waved a little. It was a plain wave where he simply moved his risen hand in a short arc before setting it down again. It was the kind of wave that expressed nonchalance and carelessness. "What's up?"

"We were going to tour the castle, wanna come?" Linnie asked.

I smiled gladly. The sheer size of this gargantuan castle had baffled me from the moment I stepped foot into this place. I wanted to know more about it from the start. "Okay! Where do we go to first?"

"I was thinking of going to see the royal kitchen. I bet they have food fit for royalty." They said. "Who wants to got there?"

Even though we had breakfast earlier, the idea of good food appealled to me. I could never give up the chance for more food. "I would like to go." I said. Landon gave a thumbs up.

"Yay! Lets go guys!" Linnie took our wrists and begun to pull us to our destination. I didn't know that they knew how to navigate the castle! We made our way through the halls and down spiraling stairs. The castle was like a labyrinth, maneuvering it was impossible. There were no maps of the castle and there were many dead ends. After some time of walking around aimlessly, doubts began to plague my mind. The longer Linnie was at the driver's seat, the more I think that they didn't know how to navigate this place. They were just trying to find the kitchen by chance. We don't know the castle well enough, and eventually, we couldn't find where we are.

I noticed a strange plant with cyan leaves sitting in an elaboratly carved pot. I recall seeing that plant a while ago. "Hey, did'nt we pass that plant already?" I said, pointing at the aforementioned plant. Linnie and Landon looked at the plant.

Landon sighed disdainfully and shook his head. "Guys, I think we're lost."

"Thank you for pointing that out, captain obvious." I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Linnie instantly perked up, as if to hide the bored sighs they exhaled just a few minutes ago. "Hey, don't say that. I'm sure we can find a way out of this." 

"Linnie, we've been walking around aimlessly in this castle for an hour now, and we passed that plant three times already." He said. "Lets face it: were lost."

As soon as he said that, a purple haired lady wearing a soiled cooking apron appeared down the hall, walking briskly. This gave me an idea. "Hey guys, maybe we should ask that lady for directions."

Landon rolled his eyes. "Gee, why did'nt we think about that earlier BEFORE we got lost." We approached the woman and I politely asked her for directions. I don't know much about Mewnians but I learned from history class that medival humans are big on politeness. There doesn't seem to be much of a difference between the two species, other than the fact that Mewmans seem to worship corn.

"Oh! You must be the friends of the princess right?" How could she know that? We arrived only last night. She took notice of my confusion. "Word gets passed around quickly in the castle. Newcomers get lost pretty often. First, you go that way" she said, pointing down the hall "then, you go left, down that hall, then, when you see a manticore painting, go out the next exit, then when you see a spiral of stairs, go down, turn right when you see a door with a picture of Queen Galaxia, pass four potted plants before going through the door to the left, then you'll see a door labeled 'Kitchen' and you're there!" When she finished, she took a big gulp of air, panting mildly. "You got that?" The three of us just stared at her.

"What..." Landon seemed especially puzzled by this. Down the hall, left, stairs painting... yep. I don't remember much of what she said either, but it can't be that hard, right?

"Okay, thanks!" We bid her goodbye and made another attempt at navigating the castle. We did just as she told us, walking down the hall, then turning left to another hall, and going out the exit next to the manticore painting. After going down a dizzying spiral of stairs, we found three doors with former queens of Mewni, but we couldn't tell which one was Queen Galaxia. We debated on which one was the aforementioned queen.

"This one might be Galaxia, her cheek marks looks like a galaxy." I said.

"But this one has space stuff and galaxies in the background." Linnie said. "Even her dress looks kinda spacey."

"I think she is the queen we're looking for." said Landon, staring at painting with a woman with a cleanky shaven head weilding a blazing sword, fighting off several monsters.

"Landon, she doesn"t even look Galaxy-ish." I said. "What makes you say she could be Galaxia?"

"I don't think she is, but she's pretty hot." He says, gazing lovingly at the queen in painting. Linnie sticks their tougue out in disgust.

"Parents name their child when they're born. So maybe, Galaxia's mom and dad named her Galaxia because of her cheek marks." I explained, pointing at the queen's cheek marks.

My friends seemed persuaded. "I guess you're right. Lets go in!" Linnie says.

"In? Didn't the lady say we should pass four plants or something?" Landon asked. I'm not sure, I seemed to have forgotten. "The lady DID say we should pass four plants right Fia?"

It's a little difficult to recall. She spoke so quickly and there were simply too many details to process all at once. "I think she said we should go through the door. But I'm not sure, it's a little hard to remember that many details."

He thought about it for a moment. "I guess it couldn't hurt... Unless we get lost again." Linnie opened the door. The room was square and white washed. Inside it, tall bookshelves lined the walls and took up the room. Ancient scrolls of every size, shape, and color can be seen sitting in the shelves, segregated by genre. I looked around the area, noticing several strange items also sitting in the shelves, crystals, bones, withered plants, and vials of unknown substances.

This must be a storage of some sort. "I'm not sure if we're allowed here." I said.

"Don't worry," Landon said. "It'll be fine." He started sifting through the scrolls. I hesitantly stepped inside the room. I saw words written on the ancient parchment, mostly written in english, though a few were written in other languages. Mom taught me several languages from different dimensions so I could decipher a few of them.

"Did mewmans still use scrolls during this dynasty, instead of books?" Linnie asked.

"I don't think so. Mom told me that Mewmans used scrolls and parchment in the past, but not today." I replied.

I touched one of the scrolls. The paper was rougher than the paper Mewmans ordinarily used. It looked very old, its paper as thin as onion skin. It turned to dust beneath my fingers. I quickly removed my hand from the scroll. I hope nobody was going to use it.

I observed the labeling on the shelves. Elegy, short story, epic, sonnet, cook book, and more. Strangely, the labels looked far more newer than the scrolls themself. They all seemed very interesting, but what really caught my eye was a shelf labeled 'Prophecies'. I never knew that Mewmans can create prophecies! That thought piqued my curiosity, so I took one of the less breakable looking ones out and unraveled it. Written in slightly scratchy but cursive handwriting was a poem:

Done is the deed, when the blood is red, the one who reads this will surely be dead!

I wonder if this prophecy is legitimate. I sure hope not. I rolled the up the scroll and pushed it back into its place on the shelf. I scanned the rest of the area, taking note of Linnie looking at a painting of who I assumed to be Queen Galaxia on the wall. They wore a look of thought upon their face. I approached them and asked "What are you thinking about, Linnie?"

They turned to look at me. "Is it just me or does her cheek marks look kinda like that black haired girl's cheek marks?" I looked at the woman in the panting. She looked lovely and regal, her neon pink hair tied in a tight bun and nobility painted in her face. Her cheek marks do look similar to Nyx's, though not exactly alike. 

"Yeah, her cheek marks do look like Nyx's." Written on the bottom of the frame was "Queen Galaxia the Seer of All." A seer? I've heard of seers before. They were people who are said to be able to see the future. Was she the one who wrote the prophecy?

"What were you reading over there?" They asked, pointing a thumb to the prophecies section. Landon was currently reading one of the scrolls from the self next to it.

"Oh, just a prophecy. It said something about death and whatnot." I replied.

"Hey dudes come here!" He called, holding out an open scroll. "I found a map of this place!" We went to him and observed the scroll. It was made with clean and cream colored paper. Like he said, it was a map of the first floor of the castle. Assuming that my friends and I are on the first floor, then we can finally be sure of where to go.

Landon pointed to a room located at the top right of the castle labled as "Queen Galaxia's room". "This is where we are." He said. Then he pointed to a room on the left side of the castle that was a room labled "Kitchen". "This is where we need to go."

"Oh." I stared at the paper. "Then let's get going!" We exited the room and followed the directions on the map. It wasn't too hard to follow the map. But instead of going to the kitchen, we found ourselves in a large room with its walls lined with tapestries. On those tapestries were who I assumed to be former queens of Mewni, judging by their wands and cheek marks.

"This isn't the kitchen." I said.

"You're right, but I still want to see it." Linnie said. They begun looking around, like a visitor in a museum. Landon followed after. Oooh boy. This is gonna take some time. My stomach growled in complaint.

"Ugh." I might as well look at the tapestries while waiting for those two to be done. I observed the tapestries, admiring their workmanship. The woven threads were hardly noticible and the scenes life-like and stunning. Below the portraits was a title and short description of the queen in the masterpiece. Celena the shy, Solena the smitten, Asteria the vengeful, ect. I took note of a small, blue man doing a lotus pose in each scene. Mom told me about him, he's Glossaryck, the physical embodiment of the book of spells, which is now destroyed. I saw a tapestry with a woman with dark green hair being held gently by a giant beast. She had spades for cheek marks and held the Butterfly royal wand in the form of an umbrella. Below it was written: Queen Eclipsa the Queen of darkness. She tells me to stay away from her because she's evil and powerful. I gazed at her coldly.

"That's a nice tapestry." A foreign voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw the very same woman in he tapestry: Queen Eclipsa. Or former queen Eclipsa. I jumped in suprise. My hands ignited and I readied myself for combat. 

"Eclipsa! Stay back!" I shouted warily.

"Nice pose you've got there." She said, mimicking my stance. "And flaming hands too, quite impressive."

"Stay away! I know what evil deeds you've done!" I said threateningly.

She chuckled a bit. "It's me, the dark and evil Eclipsa! I'm gonna curse you!" She said, wiggling her fingers. I jumped back and prepared a fireball. Then, I realized that she was being sarcastic.

"What's happening?" Landon asked. He and Linnie had finally arrived at the scene.

"It's Eclipsa, the queen of darkness!" I said, pointing at Eclipsa, then at the tapestry. The two looked at her and the tapestry.

"Queen of darkness? I like the sound of that." He said.

"Miss Eclipsa, do you know where the kitchen is? We kind of got lost here." Linnie asked her.

"What made you think this place was the kitchen?" She asked them. They motion for Landon to give them the map, and handed it over to her. She opened it and looked at its contents.

"Sweetie, this map was made over 500 years ago. It's even older than me!" She said.

"Impossible." He took the map and looked at it. "This looks like it was made recently. How it that possible?"

"Well back in the day, the paper we made was made of pulp. It could last ages." She said. "I know here the kitchen is. I could show you, if you want."

"Yes please." Linnie answered.

"You can't just go with her!" I exclaimed. "She married a monster!"

"What's wrong with monsters?" they asked.

"Mom told me they were bad." I reasoned. I strongly believed in laws and following them.

"You mean Heckapoo? Pfft, her views are medival." said Landon. "I've met a few monsters, they're just like us. And dark magic is just a label, it isn't much different from ordinary magic." Linnie agreed. I've never met a Mewnian monster. I spend most of my time helping my mom close portals and working at the forge. I suppose, he's right, I should meet one before judging them.

"Okay then... but I'm not going to enjoy it." I was a little hesitant to go with someone with such a reputation. But if she'll take us to our destination, then I'm willing to go.

"Then follow me." said Eclipsa. She approached her tapestry and pushed aside the fabric. Behind it was just plain wall with a loose brick. She pushed her hand onto it. I didn't understand what she was doing until the brick receded into the wall and the sounds of grinding gears reached my ears. Then a portion of the wall about the size of a door slid downward into the floor, revealing an empty space behind it. A secret passage!

She walked into the hole in the wall, and we followed. Looking around, this was actually a narrow hallway lined with unlit torches. I flicked my wrist and they caught fire, painting the room in bright light. Linnie and Landon jumped a little in suprise. They cast a glance at me, and Landon gave me a thumbs up. 

We turned around a bend and the hall started to get more narrower as we walked. The area became more constricted, and the line of torches had ended. Soon, I had to duck to prevent my horns from scratching the ceiling. Eclipsa made her cheekmarks glow and I set fire to my index finger, lighting up the dark.

"We're almost there." Eclipsa said. At the end of the corridor was a tiny white light. We walked quicker towards it, eager to get a taste of that sweet, delectable corn. Soon the light was brighter, and much closer than ever. Linne, Landon, and I all hopped out of the square hole, only to land in a pile of dirty dishes. Eclipsa, however, landed right beside the pile with practiced expertise.

"Eugghh... " said Linnie, who picked a slimy fruit peeling off of their face. Landon just shook himself, splattering anyone within ten feet radius of him with bits of food. Unfortunately for Linnie and I, we were both within this radius, and we both got covered in leftovers. I really wanted to set fire to his hair.

I wiped some of the gunk off of my hoodie. I set fire to my whole body in an attempt at burning away the bits of food. They did burn, but they turned into ashes which dirtied my clothes and covered me in soot. 

"Well, now we're in the kitchen." Eclipsa said. Yeah, like as if we didn't know that already. "If you don't mind, I'll get something to eat." She went to the cabinets and rummaged through them until she found a packet of chocolate bars. She quickly consumed them with ferocity.

"Ooh! I want chocolate too!" Linnie exclaimed, and they followed her to the cabinets. Landon has gone munching on some salmon-pink corn he found in a basket. I wanted to eat something spicy, maybe with a little sugar. I couldn't resist anything sweet or savory. Looking around, there were many shelves, boxes, baskets, and containers full of corn and other foodstuffs. I approached one of the shelves and found a basket full of slightly reddish corn kernels. I popped on into my mouth. It was spicy and tangy, with a little hint of sweetness. Spicy sun corn, one of the most popular corn in Mewni. I snacked happily on the corn.

As I ate, the kernels in the basket slowly decreased. When there was only a few kernels left, I noticed a shiny object glittering in the bottom of the basket. My hand sifted through the corn, and plucked a shimmering, tear drop shaped crystal out of the grains. It was streaked with an impossible number of colors, and was as clear as glass. It caught the light and its reflection was blinding. I recognized this jewel from my mother's forge, it was imeraklaion, or the weeping day. They are incredibly rare, and can only be found in Mewni. But why would this be in the kitchen? It costs a fortune! I sifted my fingers through the corn, and found a small piece of paper, rolled into a tiny straw. I unrolled it and read its contents.

To whomever this may concern,

I had a terrible vision wherein a cruel beast has come back from the dead. The only way to save the dimensions is to use this gem and make a wish far away. War is inevitable, we can only wish it won't last long. Use this, defeat him and suceed. We're counting on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay another chapter! I decided that I'll keep an update schedule of somewhere in between 1 or 2 weeks. I couldn't post the art I made of the kids for some reason so I'll just describe them through out the story. I hope that you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3: Elizabeth's POV

I can't believe that I'm doing this.

The golden light of dusk shone through the entry way of the gazebo as I arranged the plates on the table. Starfan13 decorated it with delicately arranged flowers and Nyx produced a singing harp to make some music. The leaves of the plants in the garden quivered uncertainly. Thinking through this plan, this is an awful idea. It probably wouldn't even work. Even if it does, there would still be dire. consequences.

"Guys, this might be a bad idea..." I said. Nyx whispered something to the harp, which begun to strum on its own in response. It was a gentle song, one I recognized as a Love Sentence remix.

"Don't worry, Elizabeth! I'm sure everything will turn out just fine." She replied, optimistic. I'm not conviced by her cheery demeanor. Why is she even doing this? This doesn't even help her in any way.

"And if it doesn't?" I asked. 

"Let's just hope for the best and try not to imagine the possibilities." She said. Oh, but I did imagine the possibilities. They did NOT look good. 

"Okay, everything looks set and ready to go!" said Starfan13, looking at the scene before us: A romantic dinner in a gazebo in the royal garden with a harp playing romantic Love Sentence songs. The setting sun completed the look, its light painting the horizon purple and orange. We admired our work, deeming it fit to suit the occaision.

"Guys, they're coming!" Nyx whisper shouted. Hurriedly, I grabbed Starfan's and Nyx's wrists and pulled us to the most densely foiliated tree. We climbed up the branches to the top, the wind swaying us uncertainly. I would've perferred to hide in the bushes, but all of the bushes that were big enough were either prickly or venomous. Gotta love Mewnian plants.

Mom and dad(Star and Marco) walked into the garden. Mom was holding a paper, reading it's contents as dad followed beside her. It was a little difficult to see and hear through the leaves, but I could see dad seeing the fanciful scene first. He says something to her, and she looks up from the paper and see's the scene before them. The two of them start arguing about the dinner. Eventually, they sat down at the table.

It was a little awkward for them at first but they felt more comfortable after a while and they conversed as they ate. Me and my friends just watched them as they ate, unable to leave the tree for fesr of getting caught. We were silent and stuck there for what felt like eternity.

"Isn't creepy that we're stalking them?" Nyx whispered as she chewed on a blue fruit from the tree. Now that I think of it, it is kinda creepy. Watching your younger parents go on a date while hiding doesn't seem very proper.

Starfan gripped the tree branch uneasily. "Guys, I think I need to pee..." Uh oh... The wind combed through the leaves, our supporting branches swaying to the breeze. It was getting harder to hold on. My hands were tired and slipping.

Then I saw Dad take Mom's hand in his. She looks into his eyes, suprised. He gazes deep into the sky that is her eyes, both of their faces washed in red. They then leaned into each other... closer... closer...

FLASH! A sharp, bright, light appears and dissapears in a split second. Suprised, everyone turned to look at the source of the flash, which was in one of the other trees. I carefully pushed away some leaves to get a better look. In the other tree sat a black haired, flannel guy. He was none other than Landon Diaz, the trouble maker of our group. His face read 'Oh shoot' as he held his phone to take a picture.

Landon, seeing that everyone saw him, climbed back down and walked up to the suprised couple. He held up his phone, showing off the picture of Mom and Dad having a romantic dinner and faces an inch apart. What is he doing there? He says something as he rubbed his index and middle finger on his thumb. It was a gesture pertaining to money. He's bribing them!

Mom and dad became tomato red as they looked at the picture. I knew I have to do something: I can't just sit here and let Mom and Dad get bribed by some sneaky skater guy!

Nyx has somehow left the tree and snuck up on him, trying to take the phone. She grabbed at the phone as Landon somehow to keep it out of reach, despite being the shortest one of all of us. Mom and Dad both looked very shocked, watching the two fight over a phone. I needed to help her, we can't risk the picture getting revealed.

I ran towards them, and Landon, upon seeing me, ran away with the phone. Nyx and I ran after him as we raced though the castle halls. He was a fast runner, and we were having a hard time keeping up.

"Corn arrows!" I aimed my wand at him as corn spontaneously shot out of it. Landon dodged the edible asault with ease. He even caught one of the cobs and chewed on it as he ran! We continued the chase into the royal library, frightening several readers and library staff. We weaved our way between the bookshelves, nearly getting lost in the maze of books. Landon pushed over a shelf to block my path. I awkwardly walked across it. Nyx, however, tripped and fell face-first into the pile of books.

I rushed across the book pile to her aid. "Nyx! Are you okay?" Face still in the books, she murmured what sounded like a yes. I helped her onto her feet. She had a small scratch on her cheek and nose, but other than that, she looked fine.

She pointed at the exit. "Look! Landon's escaping!" He was indeed leaving. We locked eyes, and he bolted. "After him!"

We chased him through the door and back into the halls. We were now farther back than we were before, after the shenanigans that happened in the library. Even worse, he now had found a skateboard and is using it! Skateboards don't even exist on Mewni!

I pointed my wand infront of me and shouted "Cloudy!" A smiling cloud with little wings appeared before me. It was a spell Mom taught me. She said it was often very helpful for her. I hopped on him and ordered "After him Cloudy!" He flew quickly and caught up to Landon.

"Give up the phone, Landon!" I demanded. He pushed a flower pot behind him. Cloudy flies, so it didn't affect me.

"Not until someone pays up!" He retorted stubbornly.

Nyx was quickly falling behind. I saw her pull a small vial of purple liquid out of her pocket. She quickly dumped its contents into her mouth and put away the vial.  
Then, dark damselfly wings sprouted from her back, her cat ears headband grew longer, and her complexion became a deep, navy blue. She now had four arms. She flew, and we were neck to neck.

We raced up a set of spiraling stairs. He was running around quickly but aimlessly, hoping to find a place to escape to.

"We can't let him get away!" I shouted to Nyx.

"I have an idea!" She said. "Hold my hand!" I took her hand in mine, without question. We stopped, as bright light engulfed us, but I felt no heat. Suddenly, we were in a hallway, with a few doors lining the walls. The light diminished, and Nyx let go of my hand. The world begun to spin in my head. I leaned on the wall for support.

"Sorry, dizzyness is normal for first time teleporters. It usually goes away after a minute." She said. Teleporting? I've never heard of a teleporting spell. Maybe I can ask her to teach me it later.

"Now, we just wait for him to come up here, and he's caught!" She boasted. We took time to catch our breaths. The adrenaline rush ebbed away with each breath we took, and Nyx returned to her original form.

"You went through mewberty?" I asked. I shook my head. "Nevermind. Forget I asked."

"If you're wondering how I'm able to go into my mewberty form, it's because of a potion I made. I found the recipie in Questbuy," She said. "Anyone with a drop of mewman blood in their veins can use it to trigger mewberty. It is pretty helpful with a lot of stuff, like catching Landon."

"Shouldn't he be here by now?" I asked.

She looked around, also noticing that Landon isn't here. "Yeah, this seems awfully suspicious." She rubbed her chin in thought. "Unless he figured that we would be here..." Her eyes became the size of plates as realization struck her.

"What is it, Nyx?" I asked.

She grabbed my wrist. "We need to go." She yanked the door closest to us open and pulled me inside. 

Inside the room was an office. Books and important documents are stored neatly in shelves. I looked around and saw my Grandma Moon sitting behind a table decorated with papers. Grandpa River was with her, standing before the table. They appeared to be talking before we rudely interupted them. I was overjoyed; I hadn't seen them since they both died a few years ago. I was overcome with the sudden urge to hug them both. But they just fixed us with blank stares. They looked at us, brows furrowed in confusion. Suddendly, Grandma says "Hello, what do you need? Also, please do knock next time, I don't like being taken for suprise."

"Uhh..." I tried to think of something to say. My mouth was dry. Then Nyx said "Knock knock?"

They just stared at us. Suddendly, grandpa said "Oh! This is one of the human jokes that Star talks about! Who's there?" he asked.

"You." She said

"You who?" He replied.

"You... have a visitor!" She said, pointing at said guy who was placing his arms on the window sill. His brown eyes flitted around the room, landing on each person here. He then saw me and Nyx, and was instantly filled with dread. Imediately, I pointed my wand at him to cast a spell. A giant, pink fist grabbed Landon in a vice like grip. He struggled to get free, but it was no use, he was caught.

"Hey! Let me go!" He shouted through gritted teeth. My grandparents looked baffled.

"Not until you delete the photo!" I retorted. Nyx nodded in agreement.

He comtemplated it for a moment, eyebrows knitted in thought. He looked around, his eyes moving from person to person before landing on my grandparents. He grinned eagerly, and a bad feeling settled in my stomach. "Hey King and Queen, look at these two." He pointed his chin at Nyx and I. "They both have cheek marks and a wand!"

"Yes, we can see that. It was quite obvious when they barged in here and the brown haired one shot a giant fist out of her wand." Grandma said. Landon opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again. "Why do you have the wand?" She asked me.

"Moonpie, the other one has one too!" Grandpa said, pointing at the pocket of Nyx's jacket. Something small and shiny poked out of the hole.

Nyx tried to hide her wand by covering it with her hand , but it was too late: Grandma had already seen it. She used her magic to levitate the wand out of it's pocket and into her hand.The wand was in the form of a laboratory stirring rod, long, thin, and made of glass. The holding end was a navy circle with bat wings and a vortex design in the center. "Wait, so if Star has a wand, and you have a wand, and she ALSO has a wand, then-" Her eyes narrowed. She looked us, suspicious. "Who ARE you?"

"Oh look at the time!" Nyx said, looking at her wrist, as if there was a watch there. "It's getting late! We'll just be going-" I put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped in suprise, looking quickly at me.

"It's already too late Nyx." I said. "She has your wand and they already know too much." She opened her mouth to argue, but quickly shut it, knowing that I was right. She sighed and nodded reluctantly, glancing at a very confused Grandma and Grandpa. She then looked at Landon, who has stopped struggling and stared at us.

"What are you gonna do to him?" I asked, pointing a thumb at Landon.

"I can fix this." Nyx said. She plucked a salt shaker from one of the many pockets hidden in her jacket. She walked towards him who had begun struggling again, and dashed a little bit of the grey powder on him. His eyes drooped, head slacked, and snored. He was asleep! Nyx told me that it was safe to release him, and I willed the spell to undo itself. He landed on the floor, still sleeping like a baby. She rummaged through his pockets, found his phone, and tapped away. She smiled, and gave us a thumbs up. "It's deleted!"

A wave of relief washed over me. Tension I didn't know was there left me and i finally relaxed after this long, wild goose chase. I saw her take a few selfies with the sleeping guy for laughs before putting the phone back in his pocket. I hope he sees the selfies later. He's in for a suprise when he wakes up.

"So, you guys care to explain what just happened?" She asked us. Explain? How are we going to possibly explain our unbelievable tale to them? Would they even belive us?! I exchanged nervous glances with Nyx who also seems to have the same thoughts as I. Finally, I told them "You might wanna sit down for a moment. This is a pretty long and confusing story."

 

We told them the entire story of how we got here. The time travelling, our parentage, heck, we even told him about the time Landon, Linnie, and Fia raided the kitchen! After we finished, we waited for their response. They just gawked at us, dumbfounded. It's not much of a suprise, considering the fact that we dumped a huge load of information upon them. They sat, frozen in shock, jaws practically hitting the floor. Finally, after a long pause, grandpa said "So you two are both Star's daughters but from different parents."

Nyx nodded. "Yes."

Grandpa slapped his knee wih glee. "Haha! I knew that Marco had a thing for Star!" Grandma then told him to stay on topic. He muttered an apology.

"Please don't tell anyone. You're the only one other than Mom and Dad that knows who we really are." I urged. Nyx also had the same pleading expression as I.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with us." she promised.

I saw the sky outside already dark and starry. It'll be dinner soon, "Guys, it's late already, and we gotta do something with Landon." I gestured towards the sleeping figure who was spead eagle on the floor. "What if he tells everyone what happened?"

"Don't worry, the sleeping powder I used on him is also a memory eraser. He won't remember a thing when he wakes up!" said Nyx, in a far too cheery manner.

"You wiped his memory?!" Grandma and I said simultaneously.

She waved a hand at us. "Well, of course I did. How else will I ensure the secrecy of this event?" We gawked at her. Wiping someone's memory? That's highly unethical! I know that he may tell someone else, but that's just messed up! Grandma mumbled something about her speaking to Eclipsa about this.

Landon stirred a bit. He mumbled incoherently before going back to sleep. "Guys, I think Landon might be waking up soon." I said.

"That means we have to go." Nyx said. She took his and my hand and we said our goodbyes to our grandparents.

"Tell my boy Marco that I support his relationship with my daughter!" Grandpa said. Nope, I won't be telling Dad that anytime soon. Light swallowed us once again. In the blink of an eye, we were in our bedroom. I was still a little dizzy after teleporting, but it was much better that the last time. We placed Landon onto his bed and made it look like as if he was sleeping there. We decided to make up an excuse that Landon was sleeping the entire afternoon and that we didn't want to wake him.

We made our way to the dining room for dinner. I took my seat, and saw Dad sitting far away from Mom. This isn't how I hoped it would go. They awkwardly avoided eye contact with each other. Then, Dad spotted me eating. He gave me a look that sent shivers down my spine. An accusing look that said 'we will talk later.'


	4. Chapter 4: Linnie's POV

I pulled out a thick book from the bookshelf. It was hardbound and very heavy. I strained myself as I carried the tome to the table where Jam and Fiametta sat. I dropped the book with a thud, startling the other two. I briefly apologized before taking my seat and opening the book. A puff of dust emanated from the cover, making me cough. How long has this book stayed on the shelf? Years, most probably. According to Star, many Mewmans were illiterate so reading wasn't very popular. I checked the table of contents, found the time spells section, and turned to the page. I skimmed through the blocks of text, hoping to find something useful.

After Dad berated Elizabeth and Nyx for setting him up on a date with Star, they proposed that we should start searching for answers to our problem. All of us have been searching the library clean for a solution. Nothing had come up.

"Have any of you found anything yet?" Fia asked us. Jam and I both shook our heads in dismay. She sighed, obviously bored.

"I don't think we could find anything here." Jam sighed.

"Don't worry." I said. "I'm sure we'll find something. We just gotta keep trying." I wanted them to belive that, but I'm starting to have a hard time beliving it myself. I wonder if the others were having any luck. I looked to the left and saw Landon, Elizabeth, Will, and Nyx also reading with bored expressions on their faces. Books were scattered in a pile on their table. Looks like they are down on their luck too.

I flipped through the pages over and over. My friends and I have been searching for hours. I could only find a few spells on time travel and alteration, a time reversing spell, nothing that can help repair a tied-up timeline. As I stared at the letters, they just seemed to... float off the page and away from my attention.

 _Don't get distracted!_ I tell myself. But it was difficult, and my mind constantly wanders from the task at hand. I think about many things. Do fishes get thirsty? If money doesn't grow on trees, why do banks have branches? How does Jam always sleep with an oversized gun under his pillow? I try to push those thoughts out of my mind and continue reading the book.

I'm sure there must be a spell on it, we just haven't found it yet. Maybe we're simply looking at the wrong place. Perhaps Star knows a spell. I should go ask her. "I'm gonna go ask Star if she knows a spell. I'll see you in a bit." I said to Jam and Fiametta. They nodded and I left the library.

I set off to find Star. I found her in her bedroom talking to a young Queen- I mean Princess Ponyhead. They were both caked with makeup and wore curlers in their hair. I called out to them, hoping to get their attention. I'm a little shy, so it took a while before they noticed me.

"So he was, like, SOOO hot, so I gave him my phone number but he never- O.M.G. Earth turd! I didn't know that you dyed your hair!" Ponyhead exclaimed. Earth turd? Who's that?

"Actually, this is Linnie, they're staying here for awhile." Star explained.

"Um, yes, and I don't want to interrupt but I was wondering Star, if you knew any spell that can split a timeline." I asked. "It's really urgent."

Star rubbed her chin in thought. "I've never heard of a spell that can split timelines." She said. "But I know someone who might."

Someone who can solve this predicament? We're saved! "Can you contact the person?"

Star said yes and walked over to the mirror. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, call Janna." The mirror rang a few times before someone picked up. The image showed a blueish-black haired girl wearing an olive beanie. This must be Landon's mom. She also bore a striking resembelance to Nyx.

"Hey Star, what's up? Whoa, nice makeup." Janna said.

"I remember you." Ponyhead said. "You're that girl from Star's birthday party. The one who kept summoning those ghosts to scare people." That explains why the party room is currently haunted. The ghosts keep shaking the curtains and knocking over stuff. The castle staff were frightened at first but they eventually got used to it. Ghosts and strange things happening are often considered the norm in Mewni.

"Yeah. It was great." She replied. Great? But the ghosts are trapped now with no way to go back to their home!

"Guys, I think we're getting off topic here." Star said.

"Okay then, Star. What do you need?" asked Janna.

"Linnie here was wondering if you knew any spells that can split a timeline." Star said, gesturing to me. I hope nobody gets suspicious of the reason why we need the spell.

"Oh, right. Let me just-" She unlocked a school locker and lifted a HUGE grimore from it. Someone could be heard in the background saying 'Hey! That's my locker!' but she paid it no mind. She sat down and searched through the pages before stopping at one. "Here. This one can split a timeline into two."

"Only two?" I asked. Oh please oh please oh please say no...

"This one, yes." Janna said. "But if you alter it enough, you might just be able to get it to split into more timelines." Sucess! Any solution is good for me!

"Can I see it?" I asked.

"Sure." The camera pans to the open tome. The phone camera lowered the quality, but it was readable. The paper was ancient and yellowing with age. On the very top the title reads: Splitting timelines (USE WITH EXTREME CAUTION!). There were many words and strange symbols written on the page. It was obviously a very complex spell. It doesn't look native to Mewni. "It takes up a few pages. You might want to take a picture of it."

I rummaged in the pockets of my hoodie and found my phone. I snapped a picture of each page as Janna turned it. After five pages, we were done and Janna put away her grimore.

"Thank's Janna, I really appreciate it." I said.

"No problem, Linnie." She said. We bid our farewells and went on our way.

I thanked Star and Ponyhead for helping me with the spell. As I was about to leave, I heard Ponyhead say to Star "Linnie looks a lot like Kelly."

I walked past the halls and made it to the library. I rushed to my friends' table, eager to share the news.

"Guys, I found something that can help us!" I exclaimed. Everyone turned to look at me, suprised and eager. I took out my phone and showed them the pictures of Janna's grimore. "Janna has a spell that can split a timeline in two!"

"WHAT?! Let me see!" The ever impulsive Nyx snatched my phone and eyed it with glee. She studied the images, cackling like a witch. It was kinda frightening, seeing her like that. Her face changed into an expression of recognition. "I recognize this page. When I was younger, it always befuddled me. I might be able to manipulate it so that it can split into seven timelines. It's a tricky spell, so I'm not making any promises." The group sighed in relief.

"It's best if we do it soon." Will said. His headphones were now around his neck, not being used. "Jam is starting to fade."

We all turned to Jam who simply raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Your eye scar is dissapearing." He said, pointing to Jam's eye which suprisingly, no longer has a scar. Personally, I think that he looked cool with that scar, like one of those anime characters. Jam touched the area that used to have the mark, now smooth and clear. His eyebrows knit in confusion. He then looked at Will, and he seemed even more confused.

"Your horn has vanished." He told him. Will lifted his hands to his head, feeling nothing but neat, brown hair. His left horn is missing, leaving the right horn with out its companion. He gasped in suprise, and raked his fingers through his hair agressively, hoping for it to reappear. It did shortly after. Will sighed in relief. "But how?"  
  
"A few of the books stated that when someone or something begins to fade, the timeline is trying to heal itself and as a result, the other timey stuff will cease to exist." He explained. "The more damage done on the timeline will cause the fading to go faster."

Now everyone stared at him. Elizabeth then asked,"Are you saying that all of us will dissappear if this doesn't happen soon?"

Will stared at her awkwardly. " ...Yes. The fact that there are seven of us makes it quicker." He tugged at the cuffs of his blazer. It's a really nice blazer that most guys use in formal occasions. However, he wears it everyday.

"Well then." Nyx said. "I'll try to fix the spell." I sure that she could do it. Maybe she could even ask help from Star.

"I'll help too." Elizabeth states. "I know how to do magic." She waved her wand to emphasize her point. Nyx nods in agreement.

"I can help." Landon says. "Mom taught me a few techniques on magic spells." She eyed him wearily, as if fearing that he might be lying. I know that Landon is a little rough on the edges but he's trustworthy. Well, to me. He is my best friend. She reluctantly nods.

"So it's settled." Elizabeth says. "We're gonna do the spell." Everyone murmured words of agreement. This was it. We'll no longer be able to meet each other after the spell. I looked towards Landon, who gave me an encouraging smile. I smiled back, despite my nervousness. This scares me. I know I must think of my friends. They are more important than my emotions. But I can't help but feel sad, lost. After this spell, I will never see my best friend ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for making this chapter so short, I didn't really know what more to add to it. The next chapter will be longer, I promise!


	5. Chapter 5: Will's POV

All of my half siblings and I surrounded the large circle in the center of this room. It was a few feet in diameter and drawn with white chalk. Strange symbols were written both inside and outside the circle. Unlit candles, crystals, and other miscellaneous things were strategically placed somewhere in the circle. Nyx, Elizabeth, and Landon were rechecking the spell one last time. Nyx was holding a phone in her hand. This room is one the smaller towers jutting out of the larger ones. It was empty, most probably to aid in the spell casting.

We were told that this is the last time we will ever see each other again, and that we should say goodbye. We all gave a few words of farewell to each other. I shook a few hands, awkwardly hugged someone, before stuffing my hands into my pockets. We mumbled some words of agreement, some of which sounded a bit unsure.

"Okay, each of you, stand on the symbols near the edge of the circle." Nyx said. We each found a random symbol and stood on it. My feet smudged the chalk a little. I hope it didn't make too much of a difference.

"Will, can you light the candles?" Elizabeth asked. I nodded in agreement before snapping my fingers. Small blinks of flame appeared on the candle wicks. "Okay guys, always remember to stay on your spot and don't move or touch anyone." she said.

Nyx and Elizabeth stood side by side as Nyx held the phone up so that the two could see it. They counted to three before they recited an incantation as they read from the phone. They spoke in a language I found impossible to comprehend. It was strange, flowing, and ethereal. Their voices weren't very loud, yet it reverbrated around the room. They recited in perfect unison, as if speaking as one. Everyone stilled their voices, spellbound. Their cheekmarks started to glow as the fire from the candles jumped onto the chalk and setting the entire drawing ablaze with yellow fire. Everyone flinched as the fire reached our toes, but it didn't burn us, it just licked at our heels.

The floor on center of the circle begun to crack. This doesn't look good. Soon, the cracks became deep enough and fell away, leaving a small hole. The hole cracked more, and became bigger and bigger, and this made Nyx and Elizabeth stop. They jumped at this. "This wasn't supposed to happen..." said Elizabeth.

The hole became bigger faster. "Guys, run!" Nyx shouted before the cracks below her feet gave way. She fell along with the peices of cement and debri.

"NYX!" Elizabeth shouted, she looked like she desperately wanted to help, but before she could do anything, she too, was consumed by the break.

I ran as fast as I could, and so did everybody else. But it was no use, one by one, they fell through the cracks before they could reach the door. I heard the splitting of tiles beneath my pounding feet.

I lunged at the door, desperately trying to escape. My two hands grasped the doorknob. The floor gave way, and I hung to the slippery knob for dear life, unable to turn it. I push my feet against the bottom edge of the doorway, desperately trying to open the door. I felt the knob turn beneath my fingers, and the door was opened, pushing me away from the edge. The force wrenched my grip off my lifeline. I grabbed for something, anything, only for air to slip through my fingers. Then, there was nothing, and I was falling.

I could see the the entire Butterfly kingdom from where I was. The ground far below me was the grass of the royal garden. The details were a blur below me. I kept thinking 'Idon'twannadieIdon'twannadieIdon'twannadie' until I realized something.

I was a demon. Well, only partially, but still. I could simply levitate like I usually do.

I mentally smacked myself in the head. Blue fire burst from my shoes and I stopped falling instantaneously. I dived down and rushed towards the ground as fast as I can. I needed to save my friends. As I came closer to them, I could hear their conversations.

"Guys, before we all die, I want to confess something!" Elizabeth said. "I'm the one who ate all of the cereal! It was me!"

Nyx was emptying all of her pockets, searching for something. She muttered curse words bad enough to make a sailor blush.

Landon and Linnie held on to each other for dear life. Landon looked uncomfortable, like he wanted to say something. Then he said "Linnie, I just want to say that you're the best friend I've ever had!"

Fiametta shouted "I'm not actually a time traveller like you guys! I come from this timeline and I just wanted to mess with you! I'm so sorry!" She pulled her hoodie over her head, her horns poking out of two holes on the top. She hid her face in her hands in shame.

When I was close enough, I grabbed the person to me: Fia. She held on to my arm like a frightened cat stuck in a tree. She looked down on the others below us.

"Get the others!" I demanded. She then took hold of Elizabeth, and she took hold of Jam, and so on, forming a chain of people. I tried to slow our descent, and the wind that roared in my ears quieted just a little bit. However, even with all my effort, we still fell at an alarming rate. The ground below us was expanding. Despite my lean appearance, I was never the most physically capable person. And carrying six people isn't for the weak.

"Hey! Why aren't you stopping our fall?" Fia asked past the howling air. "We're going to die here!"

"Please, I'm trying my best!" I shouted. Because of my lack of strength, we will all die! I don't want that to happen, I'm not ready for it!

Then I was weightless. I released my hold in suprise and found that we we're floating. The air around me felt like water and cackled with magic. A shadow loomed over us. Star flew above us, now sporting six arms, golden butterfly wings, and two braids. Her hand was raised. She hovered downward, and we slowly drifted to the ground.

I stood warily on my feet, shaking in shock. The area around me was covered in rubble. The bricks that was a tower only a few minutes ago are now shattered peices of cement and tiles. A few large peices pointed upward, like spearheads waiting for an unlucky victim to die by its point. The unlucky victim could have been us. It it weren't for Star, everyone would have died. It would be because I simply wasn't strong enough. I held the lapels of my blazer close, shaking, as if I was a leaf about to be blown away by the storm. But I wasn't cold. I wish what I felt was only the cold. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" I turned my head to the left and saw Star. She now looked like how she usually did, two arms and zero butterfly wings. Star looked at me, her face soft and eyes worried. "You look like you're about to cry."

I felt heat rise to my face. My eyes felt warm and wet with unshed tears. I wish I weren't so emotional. I quickly wiped them and faced her. "I'm fine. Just a little cold, that's all."

She didn't look convinced but she let me be. She smiled in assurance and went to go help someone else. A few people had come to the scene, wondering what caused all of this. The queen was also there, talking with Star. King River was shirtless, and wore some sort of grass skirt. He was carrying an axe that was far to big for a man of his size to carry. He was trying to disperse the crowd with his weapon but it doesn't look like it's working.

Some castle staff ushered us back into the castle before more people came. We all sat in comfy chairs inside a lounge room. I tried to listen to some music with my headphones only to find that I lost them during the fall. Oh well. I can always buy another. After all, my family is extremely wealthy. Sipping some hot coco, I looked at the others, and they were silent.

Several minutes later, Star, Queen Moon, and my papa(Marco) came into the room and each took a seat.

"So Star told me that you all are responsible for the destruction of the west auxiliary tower and she narrowly saved you from falling to your deaths, am I right?" the Queen asks.

We nodded morosely in agreement.

"What were you trying to do up there?" Star asks.

Nyx produced a phone out of a pocket of their red hoodie and tapped it. She pushed the device across the coffee table and towards her, its screen visible with a picture. It was the image of the spell! "This might answer your questions. It was changed a bit to accomodate seven of us but you know how that turned out." Nyx said.

Star, Moon, and Papa stared at the phone. The princess' face lit up with recognition. "Oh, this is the spell that Janna gave you." She replied.

"Yes, it is. Something went wrong with the spell and BOOM!" Linnie said, pulling their hands apart to make the impression of an explosion. I flinched at the reminder. Luckily, nobody noticed my discomfort.

"You were trying to go back to your original timelines." Moon says. Isn't that obvious?

"Wait, Mom you knew about their real identity?" Star asks, suprised.

"Of course I do! Elizabeth and Nyx told River and I all about it." She said. They revealed our secret without our knowledge? Telling Star and papa I can understand, but the King and Queen? It doesn't sound very reasonable.

"We're sorry for destroying the tower, grandma. We really thought it would work." Elizabeth said. The rest of us agreed with her, and we apologized.

"That tower wasn't of much use anyways," the Queen says. "I'll have some workers to rebuild the structure. Do avoid casting any dangerous spells unless _absolutely_ necessary."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I honestly thought that we would have some sort of terrible punishment coming our way. Back in the Underworld, destroying an entire tower of the royal castle would have severe consequences. Despite it being democratic and lacking of corruption, a lot of crimes there are punishable by death.

"But we need to go back home, Queen. We can't stay here forever." I said. I truly did want to go back to my home. I miss my dad, I miss sleeping in my bed, and I miss my pet bunny, Nugget. Even though I know that I'll have a lot of princely responsibilities to catch up on, there is nothing that I want more than to give my dad the biggest hug I could muster.

Oh speak of the devil.

"Hey, I saw what happened outside and I just want to know if everyone is okay." Dad(Tom) strode into the room, appearing a little tense. He looks different now as a teenager, his clothes torn at the edges in an attempt to look edgy. In my timeline, he typically wears more formal and royal clothes. He peeked at us, and saw Star and papa, his shoulders relaxes. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Don't worry Tom, we're all fine." Star replied. My dad once told me that she was his ex. I was fine with it because, you know... it's all in the past. But seeing them dating now kinda makes me feel uncomfortable. He takes a seat on one of the empty chairs next to her.

"So are these guys the ones who destroyed the tower?" Dad asks observing us. Star says yes, and he just hums. I fear that he might recognize me. When I first came here, I would have been fine with him knowing my identity, I'd even encourage it! But now, with more people knowing me and my friends' identity, I couldn't help but feel that this secret is getting out of hand.

His eyes linger on me, perplexed. Has he heard my thoughts? He stares, trying to identify me, wondering why I looked so familiar. I turn my face away from his sight, yet I feel his eyes bore into the back of my skull. I know it's no use. He's on to me. I have to leave. Now.

Dad opens his mouth to speak, probably to interrogate me. Before the words could come out, I exclaimed loudly, "ESCUSE ME! I will be going to the toilet."

Everyone stared at me, eyes wide. Dad shut his mouth. "Wow, I've mever heard you raise your voice before." Jam said.

Ignoring his comment, I walk briskly past the chairs and couches, and touch the doorknob. A little too quickly, I open the door and let myself out.

I made my way down the corridor, in the direction opposite to the toilet. I strolled not too far from the meeting room and found myself before a large window. It was a simple vertical hole in the wall, roughly three feet in height with an arc on the top. I'm going to wait this out until dad goes away. I can't risk more people knowing my identity. I sat on the window sill, my feet dangling over the ledge. Back at home I always did this, I even have a window in my bedroom specially made for it!

The view was breathtakingly beautiful, especially here in Mewni. The three moons were high in the Mewnian sky, balatantly visible during daytime. Below them rested the tiny houses and huts of the pesants who milled about doing their work. Mewni is an elitist country wherein the rich live in the castle and the poor on the dirty and impovished streets. The huge divide between the two has always bothered me. I've always strived for equality between people, whether it be monsters and mewmans, or rich and poor. Just because someone is a little different the other doesn't mean they should be treated differently.

The cold wind presses against my skin. Being alone and doing nothing little boring. I ought to have something to do.

"Hey." The voice suprised me, causing me to jump right off the narrow ledge I was sitting on. And there I go again, falling off a giant castle, head first. I easily flew back up onto the ledge only to see the very person I've been avoiding, looking panicked. I rested my arms on the ledge with the rest of my body floating ouside the castle.

"Holy shit, I honestly thought you were going to die!" Dad said. Earlier this morning, I thought the same thing. What was he doing here? I thought he would have stayed with the others.

"You wanna come inside or...?" He asked, gesturing to the hall. I was still flying outside of the castle. I stepped onto the berm of the window and hopped back into the hall, standing in front of him.

Dad had followed me. I felt nervous. He probably came to interrogate me now, to ask me about his future, who I am, ect. My palms begin to sweat, and I was filled with dread. He knows who I am. Of course he knows who I am, I look too much akin to him! I bet he knows who everyone else is too. A chill runs down my spine. He's calm, unlike me who is panicking internally. I wipe my sweaty hands on my pants. How long have I been quiet? He looks like he wants to say something. I should say something. Start a conversation, try not to reveal anything...

"Dad..." We said in unison. Oh no. Why'd he call me dad? I can't be his- oh. Back at home, people often joked that I was a minature version of my grandpa, Dave Lucitor. We shared a striking resembelance, the oblong face, sharp features, the brown hair and even the similar haircut. With the exceptions of my horns, red eyes, and slightly darker skin.

I told him to go first. "You look a lot like my dad." was all he said.

"Yes, yes I do. Why are you here?" I asked him, maybe a little too harshly. He didn't appear taken aback by this, and continued to talk.

"I often come here. And one day, I suddenly see a bunch of new comers hanging out with Star and Marco. Most of them look alike to people I know. The one with dark and curly green hair looks like Marco, the girl with the corn cheekmarks looks like Star with brown hair, and the black haired one looks like Janna. Then I see a younger version of my dad! What's going on?" He asks.

"... I don't know what you're talking about." I answer, hoping to throw him off my trail. He only narrows his eyes. He doesn't look convinced.

"I know you know something. When I saw you, you left immidiately. You looked scared, hiding something maybe?" He has that determined look on his face. Whenever that happens, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. I know it's no use. And I believe that he's trustworthy so I tell him.

"All of us are from the future." I tell him. "And I'm not your dad, dad, I'm your son." He simply raises an eyebrow at me. I reluctantly explain to him everything. I spill everything about what had recently happened. He is intially taken aback but after getting over his disbelief, he becomes understanding. I thought his reaction would have been more severe, quite honestly. Especially since Star isn't my mother.

"So you're stuck here in this timeline?" Dad asks.

"Yes, and we really need to get back." I reply. "The destruction of the tower was caused by us casting a timeline splitting spell to bring us back to our original timelines. But the spell was botched and you know the rest."

"Oh. Well, good luck then," He says. It seems like he wants to leave, probably do do something more interesting. I take his arm and look him in the eye.

"Please dad, We need help to go back home... If you know anything that may help us, tell us." I say, desperation creeping into my voice. I didn't feel the need to hide my emotions. I want him to know how much going home means to me. To my friends.

"A timeline splitting spell huh?" He says. "I can order my minions to find some books in our castle's library that may help you." The library there has more books and information than the library here in the Butterfly castle. Many of the denizens of the Underworld were educated and literate, so reading was popular. There will undoubtably be something that can help us.

"Thanks Dad, this means a lot to me." I tell him, grateful or his offer.

He was about to leave but before he could, I wrapped him in a bone crushing hug. I try to express as many unspoken emotions as I could. Finally, I got to give my dad the hug I've wanted to give him since I came here. He hesitates, before he slowly put his arms around me, hugging me back. I finally feel that we're back together again after so long. We stayed this way for a moment, before I pulled away. "Sorry, I just-"

"Don't worry about it, I understand." He says. He smiles and gives me an assuring shoulder pat, as if to say everything will be fine. He walks into the hall, and I watch him until he dissapears down the corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, a long chapter! Hopefully it makes up for the last chapter. Tell me if there's any spelling or grammar errors, or just comment something below.


	6. Chapter 6: Star's POV

About ten beds were lined up against the far wall, opposite to the bookshelves and door. The shelves held a variety of random objects. One of them held foreign liquids and materials, many of them swirling or bubbling. Another had weapons of futuristic technology crafted by a masterful hand. 

I sat on the large, oriental rug carpeting the floor of the bedroom center. Nyx, Jam, Linnie, and Elizabeth sat around me also on the rug, but Landon, Will, and Fia sat on their beds. Several books were stacked beside me, with many markers sticking out of the pages. Those seated on the rug were flipping through the pages of books, myself included. I didn't read the books very much. I got bored of it moments after picking it up. I was mostly just daydreaming. Some of us talked a bit, with the occaisional monster groan sounding out as Will played with his impossibly thin tablet.

A few days ago, the kids tried to make a spell to go back to their original timeline. But the spell colapsed, and it decimated the entire tower they were in. I narrowly saved them from falling to their deaths. Now we found a way to make the spell more stable thanks to the books Tom gave us. It was a bit difficult to decipher the demonic languages found inside, but he translated some of the text for us. When I asked, he claimed that the reason he did this was to show me how much he cared. But I couldn't help but wonder why he would care for a bunch of kids he isn't even friends with. They were at best distant aquaintances.

"We know what we need to do to make the spell work but we don't have the necessary equipment to do it. So we're gonna have to get some of it." Elizabeth said.

"How?" I ask. I was still holding my book, even though I wasn't pretending to read it anymore. I knew what we needed. I helped them with a bit of their research. The items were difficult to come by. We can get some of it from Questbuy, I'm sure, but unlike what it's advertising says it has, it doesn't have everything. And many of their items are constantly sold out.

"Everyone will be going on a search for the ingredients needed." Nyx replied. She swung a pair of dimensional scissors around her finger. "We're going to find them in other dimensions!"

"That's why I told you to bring your dimensional scissors. We are going on a field trip!" Linnie said. That sounds fun. Some of my friends looked suprised while others seemed to expect it. I would really like to go with them. Especially since this day looks like it is going to be a boring one.

"Sorry but I can't come. My mom says that I need to attend this meeting with her and some other people. She said it's about this new alarm system for Mewni." I reply. Mom said that it's very important. Well, she claims that pretty much all royal duties are very important. But she said that this one was of extra importance. I'm not sure if she's saying that just to make me come or if it's true.

"Don't worry about it mom. I'm sure we can handle this on our own." Elizabeth said. I didn't doubt it. I've seen them use their abilities. I know they can do more than just hold their ground.

"And hopefully not destroy any more towers." Landon mumbled silently. Linnie simply rolled their eyes at him. Glancing at him, I noticed the skin under Landon's eyes were darker than usual. Barely visible bags under his normally bright brown eyes. Did he not get enough sleep last night?

"Everyone, group yourselves into three, two partners and one trio. Make sure you all have dimensional scissors." she says . Landon and Linnie instantly grinned cheekily at each other, the kind of look two best friends give each other when the teacher tells them to pick a partner. Those two are constantly by each other's side. Elizabeth, Jam, and Fia grouped themselves together. Even though Jam and Elizabeth argue sometimes it's nice to see them working together, at least for now. Hopefully theycanset aside thier differences. Will is still lying on his bed, playing some sort of game on his phone and not paying attention to what's happening.

"Okay, I'll give each group a list of the things you need to bring back from the dimension assigned to the respective group." Nyx said before giving a piece of paper to the two groups and kept one for herself. Those were the lists of things needed.

"So we just go to this dimension," Fia says, pointing to something on her paper. "and get the things this says?"

"Probably." Landon replies, cutting open a portal with his scissors and walking into the new world, and others did the same. Nyx plucked the tablet out of Will's hands before dragging him out of bed and into her portal. We bid each other goodbye. They left through the portals, leaving me alone.

I stand up and dusted myself off before leaving the room. I checked my phone for the time. It's 8:30 a.m. I have an hour before the meeting. I walk around the halls for a while, not sure about what I should do for the meantime. I see Marco going somewhere, his back facing me. I run up to him.

"Hi Marco!" I shout. He jumps, crying put in suprise before turning quickly towards me in his fighting stance. Seeing me, he lowers his hands and recomposes himself. He has calmed down, but I can still see that the adrenaline is still there, coursing through his veins.

"Star! Don't sneak up on me like that, you scared me." He says, holding a hand to his pounding heart.

"Sorry about that. Where are you going?" I ask, hoping he has something interesting we can do.

"I'm just taking a morning walk through the castle." He says. "Want to walk with me?"

I happily oblige. We walk, falling into the same pace as we strolled to no where in particular. Some people walked by us, tending to their chores. Morning sunlight streamed through the open windows into the peaceful space. All my life, I've constantly walked through these halls with indifference. But it was nice to be with Marco now, just walking side by side. It was serene, almost romantic.

"This is nice." I tell him.

"Yeah, it is." He replies. A small smile creeps up onto his face, illuminated by the morning light. He's quite attractive, but not in a macho man kind of way.(except in his adult body, then he was VERY macho) His facial features were soft and fine. He looks almost feminine, so much so that when wearing a dress he easily passes for a girl. I remember having a crush on him in the past, but it diminished when when back to Mewni. But after the kiss we almost shared a week ago when Elizabeth and Nyx set us up seemed to have rekindled a few of my feelings. But I don't want to be his girlfriend. He's my squire and I already have a boyfriend, it would never work out. Sometimes when I think of Marco that way, guilt would crawl up my throat. Tom. He may be an ass sometimes but he doesn't deserve to have his heart broken. No, not by the girl he has worked so hard for.

I had always suspected that Marco may have a crush on me, but when we nearly kissed it confirmed my suspicions. When I still had a crush on him, I would have been overjoyed to find out that he returns my feelings. I used to dream of us kissing, holding hands, the sort of lovey dovey crush thing. But now I don't want it. We promised to act like that near kiss never happened, but we both know something had changed between us. Unspoken words and forbidden territories were crossed that day. Hidden emotions have been provoked. Marco and I dare not mention that day, but my mind would drift to that fateful moment. I often wonder what that would make our relationship. Still friends? Lovers?

But I think Marco will get over his crush some day. He may not know it but there are more than a few people who would want to date him. Janna constantly flirts with him, I've caught Kelly staring at him in a lovestruck manner a few times, and even Tom seems to have his eyes on him. He literally has seven- wait, I meant six. Six children from different people each. Six! Would he really want that many kids?

"Hey Marco," He hums in reply. "How many kids do you want to have in the future?"

He holds his chin in his hand, pondering on the question. "I'm not sure, maybe one or two? Why do you ask?" He replies.

"Just wondering." I said "You sure? I mean, you literally have six children staying here."

"From the future!" He corrects. "They're from the future, Star." I know that already.

As we strolled through the labyrinth of halls, an entryway caught my eye. Deja vú caught me. I know this place. Memories covered by years of dust and forget were uncovered. A simple opening to another hallway. This is one I was familiar with. Years of going in and out have imprinted this into my mind. I gravitated towards it.

"Hey Marco, wanna see something cool?" I ask.

"Sure, what is it?" He said. I tell him to follow me as I enter into the entryway and into another hallway. I remember passing this part when I was little. It looks a smaller, now that I'm fifteen. At its end was a doorless marble frame. Beyond that was a circular area with a flooring of smooth marble, with a few smudges of grime here and there. The formerly pristine walls was now decorated with a wallaper of vines. Unlike most Mewnian structures, it has a domed ceiling, with a chandelier hung with foilage and cobwebs. The sun's rays poured into the room, catching the foggy jewels that hung like fruits off the golden branches. Years of dust piled inside the room, coating it from the top to bottom. The air was warm and stuffy.

"What is this?" Marco asks.

"This is the dance training room. Well, more like it was." I replied. I remember learning how to waltz when I was six. Some of the music students would play their instruments as we danced to it.

"What happened here?" He asks, staring at a broken lyre in the corner, it's parts strewn across the floor. He picks it up, and strums it. The sound was no short of screetchingly terrible. He puts it back down.

"This used to be the place where I had my dance classes. But a few years ago, a new and better training room was made and the classes were moved there. Now this place is forgotten and nobody bothers cleaning it." I said.

"Oh. Okay." he said. "But I don't see what's so cool about it."

"Come here, Marco," I said, rushing to a big window. I pointed downward. "Look."

He came over and observed the area below. A wide, open space with a large pool came into view. Large double doors were built into the wall below us. A pair of guards flanked both sides of the entrance, sitting down and looking very bored as they chatted up each other.

"When we were little, Ponyhead and I would often come here to play tricks on the guards. It was especially fun when dad threw one of his awesome pool parties and there were so many guests." I spent many of my childhood days in this room, leaning how to dance and hanging out with friends. Our pranks started rumors of haunted plants but it has since diminished years ago.

"Okay, but how?" He asked. "Why do it up here?" A teal vine slowly creeped towards us from the wall, its thick, fleshy leaves quivering in uncertainty. It poked Marco's left hand. Seeing the plant moving towards him, he immidiately took a few steps back, pulling me by the hand. He saw my hand in his, and recoiled it in suprise, a pale blush dusted onto his cheeks.

"Um, Star, what is that?" He asks, pointing at the aforementioned plant. It was now curled back, leaves drooping. I came closer to it and stroked its leaves, and it relaxed, wrapping its tail around my finger. Hey, it remembers me!

"This is a dryad," I said, presenting the vine to him. "This little guy helped us prank the guards without them knowing it was us when we were kids."

"So it's not dangerous?" He asked, still cautious of the sentient plant.

"Of course not, Marco! The dryad would never hurt anyone!" I reassured him. The dryad was a creature of mischief without malice. Anything that might harm someone was a big no no. Once, when I was about four or five, I tried to convince it to pour some hot sourcorn puree in the wine during one of Dad's pool parties. It quickly took the puree and placed it on a high shelf, far from the reach of my toddler fingers because it was afraid that someone might have an allergic reaction to it. Now that I think of it, I guess it is a bad idea, considering that many Mewmans were allergic to hot sourcorn. Allergic reactions are a serious cause for concern here in Mewni because our medicine isn't as good as it is on Earth. 

He cautiously extended his hand toward the dryad. Another vine crawled off the wall onto Marco's hand. It curled in his palm. It behaved kinda like a dog, wanting attention and to be touched. The heavy blades of leaf tickled his palm.

"This plant is kinda cool." He said, and smiled.

His face then turned to my left, in the direction of the sun. Something must have caught his eye. He walked towards another window a few yards away. On the window sill sat another plant, its roots impaled into the stone, cracking it. Knife shaped leaves grew sharply out of the stone. A single, radiant bloom rose from its stem. It looked a lot like a dahlia, it's petals pointed with gold, but lavender crept up from the fuzzy center. It's a wonder how it is able to survive without proper soil, let alone grow prosperously and strong. 

"I don't know the name of that flower, but Glossaryck told me can heal people really quickly." I informed him. It reminds me of that flower from Tangled. Glossaryck had told me that before he became... globglor-ified. I could almost hear his voice crying out that word. Globglor. What even is a globgor anyways?

"Glossaryck huh?" He said. "All he does now is run around and shout 'Globgor!'"

"Yeah, it's almost like I can hear him..." I reply. Little globgors echo in my mind.

"Me too." He said.

The globgors got louder. Okay, that definitely wasn't in my head. I could even hear the pitter patter of his hands and feet against the tiled floor. The echoing cries became louder before the little blue man sped towards me. He hopped onto my skirt, his diamond eyes staring at my blue ones blankly. "Globgooooor!"

"Ah! Glossaryck!" I picked him up by the armpits. He begun to drool on my thumb. "What are you doing here?"

"Globgor." He droned. His head tilted mindlessly, and his gaze lolled to something behind me. I turned around, and saw him eyeballing an old clock. It was still functional, the short arm pointed at nine and long arm at five. It is 9:25 am. Then it hit me, dread and fear both.

"Oh no..." I said. "The meeting with mom! I have to get there!"

"You have a meeting with you mom?" Marco asked.

"Y-yes! In 9:30! I gotta go! Here, take him." I haphazardly handed Glossaryck to him. He clumsily took him, almost dropping him. "Bye Marco!" I dashed out of the dusty room and back into the neverending hallways of the castle. Mom's going to kill me! The castle was huge, and I was far from the meeting place. I'm not sure if I'll make it in time. If only I could get there faster. Maybe I should make a teleporting spell, it would really make things easier. But that's a problem to solve during another day. For now, I would just have to stick to running as fast as I can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if there are any grammar mistakes or anything that you think needs improvements. I would really like to hear your thoughts.


	7. Chapter 6: Star's POV

About ten beds were lined up against the far wall, opposite to the bookshelves and door. The shelves held a variety of random objects. One of them held foreign liquids and materials, many of them swirling or bubbling. Another had weapons of futuristic technology crafted by a masterful hand. 

I sat on the large, oriental rug carpeting the floor of the bedroom center. Nyx, Jam, Linnie, and Elizabeth sat around me also on the rug, but Landon, Will, and Fia sat on their beds. Several books were stacked beside me, with many markers sticking out of the pages. Those seated on the rug were flipping through the pages of books, myself included. I didn't read the books very much. I got bored of it moments after picking it up. I was mostly just daydreaming. Some of us talked a bit, with the occaisional monster groan sounding out as Will played with his impossibly thin tablet.

A few days ago, the kids tried to make a spell to go back to their original timeline. But the spell colapsed, and it decimated the entire tower they were in. I narrowly saved them from falling to their deaths. Now we found a way to make the spell more stable thanks to the books Tom gave us. It was a bit difficult to decipher the demonic languages found inside, but he translated some of the text for us. When I asked, he claimed that the reason he did this was to show me how much he cared. But I couldn't help but wonder why he would care for a bunch of kids he isn't even friends with. They were at best distant aquaintances.

"We know what we need to do to make the spell work but we don't have the necessary equipment to do it. So we're gonna have to get some of it." Elizabeth said.

"How?" I ask. I was still holding my book, even though I wasn't pretending to read it anymore. I knew what we needed. I helped them with a bit of their research. The items were difficult to come by. We can get some of it from Questbuy, I'm sure, but unlike what it's advertising says it has, it doesn't have everything. And many of their items are constantly sold out.

"Everyone will be going on a search for the ingredients needed." Nyx replied. She swung a pair of dimensional scissors around her finger. "We're going to find them in other dimensions!"

"That's why I told you to bring your dimensional scissors. We are going on a field trip!" Linnie said. That sounds fun. Some of my friends looked suprised while others seemed to expect it. I would really like to go with them. Especially since this day looks like it is going to be a boring one.

"Sorry but I can't come. My mom says that I need to attend this meeting with her and some other people. She said it's about this new alarm system for Mewni." I reply. Mom said that it's very important. Well, she claims that pretty much all royal duties are very important. But she said that this one was of extra importance. I'm not sure if she's saying that just to make me come or if it's true.

"Don't worry about it mom. I'm sure we can handle this on our own." Elizabeth said. I didn't doubt it. I've seen them use their abilities. I know they can do more than just hold their ground.

"And hopefully not destroy any more towers." Landon mumbled silently. Linnie simply rolled their eyes at him. Glancing at him, I noticed the skin under Landon's eyes were darker than usual. Barely visible bags under his normally bright brown eyes. Did he not get enough sleep last night?

"Everyone, group yourselves into three, two partners and one trio. Make sure you all have dimensional scissors." she says . Landon and Linnie instantly grinned cheekily at each other, the kind of look two best friends give each other when the teacher tells them to pick a partner. Those two are constantly by each other's side. Elizabeth, Jam, and Fia grouped themselves together. Even though Jam and Elizabeth argue sometimes it's nice to see them working together, at least for now. Hopefully theycanset aside thier differences. Will is still lying on his bed, playing some sort of game on his phone and not paying attention to what's happening.

"Okay, I'll give each group a list of the things you need to bring back from the dimension assigned to the respective group." Nyx said before giving a piece of paper to the two groups and kept one for herself. Those were the lists of things needed.

"So we just go to this dimension," Fia says, pointing to something on her paper. "and get the things this says?"

"Probably." Landon replies, cutting open a portal with his scissors and walking into the new world, and others did the same. Nyx plucked the tablet out of Will's hands before dragging him out of bed and into her portal. We bid each other goodbye. They left through the portals, leaving me alone.

I stand up and dusted myself off before leaving the room. I checked my phone for the time. It's 8:30 a.m. I have an hour before the meeting. I walk around the halls for a while, not sure about what I should do for the meantime. I see Marco going somewhere, his back facing me. I run up to him.

"Hi Marco!" I shout. He jumps, crying put in suprise before turning quickly towards me in his fighting stance. Seeing me, he lowers his hands and recomposes himself. He has calmed down, but I can still see that the adrenaline is still there, coursing through his veins.

"Star! Don't sneak up on me like that, you scared me." He says, holding a hand to his pounding heart.

"Sorry about that. Where are you going?" I ask, hoping he has something interesting we can do.

"I'm just taking a morning walk through the castle." He says. "Want to walk with me?"

I happily oblige. We walk, falling into the same pace as we strolled to no where in particular. Some people walked by us, tending to their chores. Morning sunlight streamed through the open windows into the peaceful space. All my life, I've constantly walked through these halls with indifference. But it was nice to be with Marco now, just walking side by side. It was serene, almost romantic.

"This is nice." I tell him.

"Yeah, it is." He replies. A small smile creeps up onto his face, illuminated by the morning light. He's quite attractive, but not in a macho man kind of way.(except in his adult body, then he was VERY macho) His facial features were soft and fine. He looks almost feminine, so much so that when wearing a dress he easily passes for a girl. I remember having a crush on him in the past, but it diminished when when back to Mewni. But after the kiss we almost shared a week ago when Elizabeth and Nyx set us up seemed to have rekindled a few of my feelings. But I don't want to be his girlfriend. He's my squire and I already have a boyfriend, it would never work out. Sometimes when I think of Marco that way, guilt would crawl up my throat. Tom. He may be an ass sometimes but he doesn't deserve to have his heart broken. No, not by the girl he has worked so hard for.

I had always suspected that Marco may have a crush on me, but when we nearly kissed it confirmed my suspicions. When I still had a crush on him, I would have been overjoyed to find out that he returns my feelings. I used to dream of us kissing, holding hands, the sort of lovey dovey crush thing. But now I don't want it. We promised to act like that near kiss never happened, but we both know something had changed between us. Unspoken words and forbidden territories were crossed that day. Hidden emotions have been provoked. Marco and I dare not mention that day, but my mind would drift to that fateful moment. I often wonder what that would make our relationship. Still friends? Lovers?

But I think Marco will get over his crush some day. He may not know it but there are more than a few people who would want to date him. Janna constantly flirts with him, I've caught Kelly staring at him in a lovestruck manner a few times, and even Tom seems to have his eyes on him. He literally has seven- wait, I meant six. Six children from different people each. Six! Would he really want that many kids?

"Hey Marco," He hums in reply. "How many kids do you want to have in the future?"

He holds his chin in his hand, pondering on the question. "I'm not sure, maybe one or two? Why do you ask?" He replies.

"Just wondering." I said "You sure? I mean, you literally have six children staying here."

"From the future!" He corrects. "They're from the future, Star." I know that already.

As we strolled through the labyrinth of halls, an entryway caught my eye. Deja vú caught me. I know this place. Memories covered by years of dust and forget were uncovered. A simple opening to another hallway. This is one I was familiar with. Years of going in and out have imprinted this into my mind. I gravitated towards it.

"Hey Marco, wanna see something cool?" I ask.

"Sure, what is it?" He said. I tell him to follow me as I enter into the entryway and into another hallway. I remember passing this part when I was little. It looks a smaller, now that I'm fifteen. At its end was a doorless marble frame. Beyond that was a circular area with a flooring of smooth marble, with a few smudges of grime here and there. The formerly pristine walls was now decorated with a wallaper of vines. Unlike most Mewnian structures, it has a domed ceiling, with a chandelier hung with foilage and cobwebs. The sun's rays poured into the room, catching the foggy jewels that hung like fruits off the golden branches. Years of dust piled inside the room, coating it from the top to bottom. The air was warm and stuffy.

"What is this?" Marco asks.

"This is the dance training room. Well, more like it was." I replied. I remember learning how to waltz when I was six. Some of the music students would play their instruments as we danced to it.

"What happened here?" He asks, staring at a broken lyre in the corner, it's parts strewn across the floor. He picks it up, and strums it. The sound was no short of screetchingly terrible. He puts it back down.

"This used to be the place where I had my dance classes. But a few years ago, a new and better training room was made and the classes were moved there. Now this place is forgotten and nobody bothers cleaning it." I said.

"Oh. Okay." he said. "But I don't see what's so cool about it."

"Come here, Marco," I said, rushing to a big window. I pointed downward. "Look."

He came over and observed the area below. A wide, open space with a large pool came into view. Large double doors were built into the wall below us. A pair of guards flanked both sides of the entrance, sitting down and looking very bored as they chatted up each other.

"When we were little, Ponyhead and I would often come here to play tricks on the guards. It was especially fun when dad threw one of his awesome pool parties and there were so many guests." I spent many of my childhood days in this room, leaning how to dance and hanging out with friends. Our pranks started rumors of haunted plants but it has since diminished years ago.

"Okay, but how?" He asked. "Why do it up here?" A teal vine slowly creeped towards us from the wall, its thick, fleshy leaves quivering in uncertainty. It poked Marco's left hand. Seeing the plant moving towards him, he immidiately took a few steps back, pulling me by the hand. He saw my hand in his, and recoiled it in suprise, a pale blush dusted onto his cheeks.

"Um, Star, what is that?" He asks, pointing at the aforementioned plant. It was now curled back, leaves drooping. I came closer to it and stroked its leaves, and it relaxed, wrapping its tail around my finger. Hey, it remembers me!

"This is a dryad," I said, presenting the vine to him. "This little guy helped us prank the guards without them knowing it was us when we were kids."

"So it's not dangerous?" He asked, still cautious of the sentient plant.

"Of course not, Marco! The dryad would never hurt anyone!" I reassured him. The dryad was a creature of mischief without malice. Anything that might harm someone was a big no no. Once, when I was about four or five, I tried to convince it to pour some hot sourcorn puree in the wine during one of Dad's pool parties. It quickly took the puree and placed it on a high shelf, far from the reach of my toddler fingers because it was afraid that someone might have an allergic reaction to it. Now that I think of it, I guess it is a bad idea, considering that many Mewmans were allergic to hot sourcorn. Allergic reactions are a serious cause for concern here in Mewni because our medicine isn't as good as it is on Earth. 

He cautiously extended his hand toward the dryad. Another vine crawled off the wall onto Marco's hand. It curled in his palm. It behaved kinda like a dog, wanting attention and to be touched. The heavy blades of leaf tickled his palm.

"This plant is kinda cool." He said, and smiled.

His face then turned to my left, in the direction of the sun. Something must have caught his eye. He walked towards another window a few yards away. On the window sill sat another plant, its roots impaled into the stone, cracking it. Knife shaped leaves grew sharply out of the stone. A single, radiant bloom rose from its stem. It looked a lot like a dahlia, it's petals pointed with gold, but lavender crept up from the fuzzy center. It's a wonder how it is able to survive without proper soil, let alone grow prosperously and strong. 

"I don't know the name of that flower, but Glossaryck told me can heal people really quickly." I informed him. It reminds me of that flower from Tangled. Glossaryck had told me that before he became... globglor-ified. I could almost hear his voice crying out that word. Globglor. What even is a globgor anyways?

"Glossaryck huh?" He said. "All he does now is run around and shout 'Globgor!'"

"Yeah, it's almost like I can hear him..." I reply. Little globgors echo in my mind.

"Me too." He said.

The globgors got louder. Okay, that definitely wasn't in my head. I could even hear the pitter patter of his hands and feet against the tiled floor. The echoing cries became louder before the little blue man sped towards me. He hopped onto my skirt, his diamond eyes staring at my blue ones blankly. "Globgooooor!"

"Ah! Glossaryck!" I picked him up by the armpits. He begun to drool on my thumb. "What are you doing here?"

"Globgor." He droned. His head tilted mindlessly, and his gaze lolled to something behind me. I turned around, and saw him eyeballing an old clock. It was still functional, the short arm pointed at nine and long arm at five. It is 9:25 am. Then it hit me, dread and fear both.

"Oh no..." I said. "The meeting with mom! I have to get there!"

"You have a meeting with you mom?" Marco asked.

"Y-yes! In 9:30! I gotta go! Here, take him." I haphazardly handed Glossaryck to him. He clumsily took him, almost dropping him. "Bye Marco!" I dashed out of the dusty room and back into the neverending hallways of the castle. Mom's going to kill me! The castle was huge, and I was far from the meeting place. I'm not sure if I'll make it in time. If only I could get there faster. Maybe I should make a teleporting spell, it would really make things easier. But that's a problem to solve during another day. For now, I would just have to stick to running as fast as I can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if there are any grammar mistakes or anything that you think needs improvements. I would really like to hear your thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8:Jam's POV

  We trudged through the endless waters, its depths knee high and soaking our clothes. Swirls of mud trailed behind us wherever we went. Tiny fish-like creatures darted between our legs, disturbed by our prescence. Trees towered over us, thier roots hidden beneath the waters. I couldn't see the sky over the thick canopy.

  I've never seen so much water in a single area. Ever since the Stapocalypse, Earth's waters have dried up, the sea level lessening by miles and lakes and rivers drying. Such large amounts of it was only in the fantastical tales told by the adults who had lived during such times. It fascinated me, yet it scared me, but I didn't express my feelings of this world. Fiametta looked equally fascinated, Elizabeth however only looked bored with this.

  "What is this dirty, oversized pond?" Fia asked. "I"ve never seen anything quite like this." She kneeled down and splashed the waters with her fingetips.

  "We're in a swamp, Fia." Elizabeth stated. Her foot momentarily got stuck in an area of particularly deep mud. With a sharp tug, she was free.

  "What is a swamp?" I asked at the same time as Fia.

  "It is the place we're in now." Elizabeth said, gesturing to everything before us. She studied the paper in her hands. This paper has some of the things we need to find in order to stabilize the spell. She folded the paper into a square before putting it inside the pocket of her hoodie.(Dad's hoodie. It helps prevent suspicion.) I need to know what we needed to find.

  "Can I see the paper?" I asked.

  She plucked the paper from its pocket and handed it to me. "Here."

  I unfolded it, and read it's contents. Dragon weed root and wyvern water. Drawings and descriptions were also written in ink. Aperrantly wyvern water was actually the juice of a fruit grown on a large tree. All these we can find on dry land.

  A leaf floated towards me from my right. The ripples created from my calves wading though the water knocked it off course. It veered towards one of the tree trunks before bouncing off that and floating away. A low, yet strong branch jutted out from the bark. More and more branches grew out too into the canopy. It was taller than most trees here. I could climb up there and find some land. I might find something that may help us find what we need.

  "Stop." I said. They did. I waddled towards the tree and emptied my shoes of water. I placed a foot on the lowest branch, tested its strength, before placing my full weight upon it. I did the same with the next branch, and the so forth as I reached the sky. I heard snippets of conversations below me.

  "What's he doing?" Elizabeth asks.

  "Climbing, obviously." Fia replies.

  I climbed until I could see the skyline. My arms reached for another branch and I hoisted myself up. This should be high enough. I held on one of the main branches for support as I stood up. The sun was no longer obstructed by the leaves. It made it warmer up here, and my skin shone with sweat. Or it might just be the effort it took to climb up here. I took off my leather jacket and hung it over the branch. I saw the land slope upward, with a few hills in the distance some miles from here, eastward. The land itself wasn't visible beneath the carpet of leaves grown on the trees.

  "I think I just saw a dragon over there." I turned to the voice and saw Elizabeth flying on Cloudy, a pink, floating cloud. She was pointing to my left, next to the hills. A large rustle and the flapping of wings.

  "There, land." I pointed at the hills. "It is elavated, the water can't get there." She looked in the direction I was pointing, and saw the gradual rise of the land.

  "Okay, lets go then." She said. I nodded and begun to lower myself back down. She stopped me, and she scootched closer to the edge of cloudy. She patted the empty space next to her. "Sit here."

  I was reluctant to sit with her. What if she suddendly pushes me off? After all, my existence does threaten hers. It will take a while to go back down by climbing, but I'm sure it isn't as difficult as going up. "No."

  "You can't just climb back down, it's going to waste a lot of valuable time." She said.

  "Then just go ahead without me." I picked up my leather jacket, and started the journey downward.

  "I'm not leaving you behind!" She exclaimed, exasperated. Here we go again.

  "Hey! What is going on up there!" Fiametta shouted from below. "Please don't tell me that you two are arguing again!"

  Elizabeth looked at me expectantly. I decided to push aside my doubts and stepped onto cloudy. I held on tight, just in case. "Down, Cloudy." Elizabeth says. Cloudy flew down. Soon we were hovering just above the water.  I hurriedly got off, my shoes splashing water onto my companions. She stayed on, and raised an eyebrow at my anxiety.

  "What did you guys find?" Fia asked.

  "Jam found some dry land a few miles east." Elizabeth replied.

  "Nice!" she said.

  Elizabeth summoned two more cloudies. "We will get there quicker with Cloudy," Even though I had just ridden one a moment ago, I still was wary of it. But I sat on it anyways. "That way, Cloudy!" She said, pointing to the East.

  "Which one of us?" the Cloudies asked in unison.

  "Err, all of you." she replied. They obeyed, and flew in that direction. Their impossibly small wings scraped the waters, leaving a trail of mist in their wake. The wind swept my hair. Strange fishes- no, * _dragons_ *, drew graceful arcs over the water. Dragons were rare back home. They were terrifying beasts, and they infiltrate our camp with ease. These dragons are not like those. They were tiny and streamline. As quickly as they came, they vanished, leaving the area empty and dull without the glimmer of their scales.

  Dry land came into view. The Cloudies slowed to a stop right at the shoreline. We dropped off them and they dissapeared in a puff. The dirt beneath out feet was wet and squishy. We wrung the water out of our clothes.

  "The items should be around here." I muttered.

  "Can I see the list?" Fia asked. I handed it to her and she read it. She folded it back into a square. "Well, these shouldn't be too hard to find. Lets just look around."

  We started walking around the hills. The further we went, the drier it became. The forest wasn't very dense, but the leaves blocked much of the sunlight. Singing cries of strange creatures echoed all around. Probably dragons. Dragons are the only creatures I've seen roaming this place. Once we heard a roar. Twice we heard a painful trill. Flashes of scales and teeth peeked from the thickets. Dragons, wyverns, fire breathers. I kept my hand close to my gun. We don't know what lies hidden in this land. Anything could happen.

  We easily found the dragon weed root. It was a small plant that liked to cluster around tree roots. On the surface, it looks like a small chunk of grass but once it is pulled out of the dirt, the thick, spongey roots become visible. We held on to it as we explored the area.

  After several hours of searching, the sun touched the horizon. A brilliant but silent explosion of fire bled into the sky. Bruised purples chased after it. The air became cool and crisp. I couldv'e sworn it was morning when I left. Only a few hours later, and it is sunset?

  "It's getting dark," I said. At night, there is a curfew at home because monsters tend to come out at night. The dark shadows make good hiding places for them to sneak up and attack. That was how my mother(Jackie) died. I won't make the same mistake. "We should make camp."

  Fiametta raised her head to the sky. She admired the darkening sky for a moment, and turned back to me. "Yeah, but where do we stay?"

  "There?" Elizabeth pointed to a flat area beside a stream. Water sources are very important for survival.

  "Yes, this is good," I said. "I'll go get some sticks for building a shelter. I might even find something edible."

  "Or, I can just use my wand and magic some food and tents into existence." Elizabeth stated.

  "Oh. Alright." I replied. That is definitely more efficient. She pointed her wand, and light bust forth, materializing into a large tent capable of housing all of us. She did the same with some corn, pizza, fruits, and other foodstuff. I brought some firewood and Fiametta lit it. . We sat on the ground, eating and roasting this fluffy white thing on a stick. Marshmallows, Elizabeth had called it. It was delicious.

  "This is amazing!" Fia said, as she munched on a marshmallow, now reduced to a burnt, brown lump. She ate it anyway, like as if it were the greatest thing she has ever tasted.

  "You said you come from this timeline, right?" Elizabeth asked. The rest of us came from the future timelines. Fia nodded. "Then why are you helping us?"

  "...That is a good question. I won't live forever. I might live a century or two but that isn't a long time. I wanted to see the multiverse, and know more than just mom's dimension. When I finally perfected my first pair of dimensional scissors, I left home to see Mewni, to meet dad. I also met you guys. I came to see how you would try to conquer each other, then I stayed."

  "But why?" She asked.

  "At first, I thought everyone would start trying to, err, * _erase_ * each other. I waited for it even! But you didn't. You helped each other. Even after the destruction of that tower and that incident with Star and dad, you keep helping each other. It challenged what I thought I knew. And I learned something." She said, smiling at the barely visible sky line. She reminds me of myself when I was younger. Grinning toothily at the most simplest of things. Her innocence. Sometimes she would get so excited tht she would acidentally set flammables ablaze. I used to be just like that. Times before the cruelty of life ravaged me.

  It was difficult to see the cosmos through the canopy, but I could make out a few large planets in the distance. A strip of asteroids lined the sky. I had difficulty believing her words. Her intentions might be malicious. Her sphynx-like grin and snarky remarks. Yet, her words were laced with sincerity. Sweet, childish trust in the multiverse. If she doesn't learn to doubt, it will be her downfall, as it had been mine.

  After discussing about what we should do tomorrow, we headed back to the tent. I shrugged off my jacket. My hand went to my chest, and felt the comforting shape of my mother's seashell necklace. I flipped it open. There was a picture on both sides. One was a family photo, the only one I had. The second, myself, only a month after my birth, frowning and teary eyed. This was my most cherished belonging. The last bit of my family still with me. A reminder of my goal: to stop the Stapocalypse and save them both. My eyes linger on them for a while before snapping it shut. It is a habit of mine I do before sleeping. As if to say goodnight.

  "What's that, Jammy?" Fia asked.

  "Please don't call me that," I said. Okay, she says. "It's a necklace, my mother's necklace. I inherited it when she died."

  "Never knew you to be the sentimental kind," She said. Unlike many people, she doesn't pity me, or look at me like in injured puppy. It is something I am grateful for. She zips open her sleeping bag, takes off her red hoodie and lies down. "Goodnight everybody."

  Elizabeth and I say our own goodnights. We open our on sleeping bags. I get my gun and hide it under my pillow. It isn't very comfortable but it is important to always be prepared. I close my eyes and drift into dreamless sleep.  
  


  A loud thump. My eyes flew open and I quickly sat up. I tore my pillow away from its place and grabbed my gun. As silently as possible, I wriggled from my sleeping bag and crawled to the entrance of the tent. A large shadow moved past. It's large footsteps dragged behind it, stirring the ground. I tugged on the zipper, trying to create an opening and get a better look at it. I looked through the opening with an eye. Large, creamy gold claws scraped the ground. There was a long pause. Then, a huge slit pupil met my own. I drew in a sharp breath before sticking the nozzle of my gun through the hold and firing without a moment's hesitation. It fell back and roared, a monstrous cry of pain that could be heard for miles. The sound left my ears ringing. Elizabeth suddenly sat up, eyes wide.

  She yawned before she spoke. "What was that?!" I thought it was pretty obvious by now. I tore out of the tent, armed with my gun. The beast was a dragon( _again!?_ ), its skin armored with plates of gold, and eyes circlets of turquoise ornaments. It clawed at its left eye, which steamed painfully. The right one met mine, and it growled in outrage. I shot at its head, but the lazer beam bounced off its scales and onto a tree. It snapped at me, and I dodged to the left. My foot caught a root and I fell forward into the dirt. My gun was tossed a few feet away. I reached for it, but a shadow loomed over me. I looked up to see the dragon towering over me, mouth open, ready to eat me. Oh well. At least I'll be able to see my parents again.

  With a large bang, it colapsed to the side. Elizabeth stood on the other side of the dragon atop a boulder, holding her wand out. I took this opportunity to snatch my gun and shoot at it again. Nothing. With impenetrable scales and immeasurable size, this beast would be nearly impossible to get rid of. If we can't be rid of it, we should rid it of ourselves. I don't think anyone brought anything of importance here. We can just grab our things and run.

  "Elizabeth, We have to leave! It's too dangerous!" I shouted. She hesitated, most likely weighing the outcomes. She then hopped off the boulder ran back into the tent, coming back out with a very groggy looking Fia. Had she been sleeping through all this? They hid behind the boulder and I followed.

  "Can you create a diversion?" I asked, but it came out sounding more like a command. She nodded briskly, and summoned several Cloudies.

  "Hi Elizabeth!" they chorused.

  "Distract he dragon! Now!" she demanded. They flew at the dragon, wings buzzing around its face. Its good eye followed them, and waved a giant claw at them. It turned it back on us, attention now focused on the Cloudies.

  "Let's go," I said. We escaped into the woods and ran as fast as our feet could carry. The menacing growls became fainter as we went farther. We ran for several minutes straight before we stopped to catch our breath. I would've ran for longer but I don't want to leave my companions behind.

  "That was * _huff*_  a close one..." Elizabeth said. She sat down on a fallen tree trunk. It was covered in moss and some weird gunk but she didn't mind it.

  "Mm hmm." Fia hummed. There was a dry trail of drool on her pale cheek. I leaned against a tree.

  After catching our breaths, we continued on our journey. We lost the dragon weed root when we left the campsite, but it being a comman plant, we found another. Elizabeth and Fia also left their hoodies but I'm sure father has more.

  As we went deeper into the forest, the trees started to darken. The usual chirps and birdsongs silenced. A thickness hung over the atmosphere, like sleep. The soil was much more looser. The trees looked unnaturally straight. Like poles struck into the ground with no roots to hold them down. I had an eerie feeling that we shouldn't touch them.

  "This tree looks strange." Elizabeth said, rapping her knuckles against the bark. A growl emanated from it. Roots ripped themselves out of the ground. We stepped backwards, only to land on another tree. It did the same, along with many others. The once still forest was now loud with spraying dirt and roots.

  "Run." She whimpered. Once again, we are trying to escape from creatures trying to attack us. However, unlike with the dragon, we can't escape. More an more of them keep waking up. Carnivorous trees were now hot on our heels. We can try to take them down but there are too many of them. We were outnumbered.

"Look! The wyvern water fruit thing!" Fiametta cried, pointing at another tree, but this one wasn't trying to get us. It was completely still, with a single icy blue fruit hung upon its branch. It matched the exact picture of it. "We can't leave this place without it!"

  "Our lives are at stake here!" Elizabeth shouted.

  "Maybe we can grab the fruit and juice it back in Mewni?" I suggested.

  Fia was already approaching the tree. She grappled at its branches unable to reach them. "A little help here?"

  I followed her and stood at the base of the tree. She stepped onto my hands and on my shoulders. Her hands grasped the branches and she climbed on. She leaped through the leaves with suprising deftness for someone without much knowledge on plants, or living things for the matter.

  The towering trees lugged towards us at all directions. I fired at them, the laser blasts leaving their wooden barks cracked and scorched. Elizabeth also did the same thing. Colorful spells and lazers shot everywhere, like a sci fi movie.

  I aimed for the base of the roots. Without the roots, the trees can't walk. Or crawl. Whichever sounds best. With every tree fallen, more came. There was too many of them.

  "Jam, watch out!" Elizabeth panicked. A particularly close one whacked my head with the tip of its branches. It was a soft blow, and I returned the favor with a blow of my own. It was forced back, peppered with holes. The rest shook their branches, obviously angered by this. They are closing in for the kill.

  "Hurry Fia! We can't hold them off for much longer!" I wanted to look back and see what progress Fiametta has made, but doing so wouldn't help. Never take your eyes off the enemy, they would say. Distraction creates weakness. I learned that the hard way.

  "I got it! Open the portal!" she said, still high up in the tree. Elizabeth took out her scissors and cut a portal back to Mewni. Fia dropped down from the branches, fruit in hand. In a rush, we tumbled through the portal and back into our bedroom in Mewni.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love dragons. Jam, not so much.


	9. Chapter 9: Landon's POV

"QuestBuy?!" I exclaimed. We had just left Mewni and are currently passing through the infinite aisles. Why QuestBuy? There are countless other dimensions that we could have gone to that are way cooler. Did Nyx send me here because she didn't trust me with anything else? I swear, it's as if I did something to get on her bad side. Maybe I did. And she somehow erased my memory afterwards. Not that I would know. "I'm a black belt in karate! I should be out there karate-chopping some bad things!"

"This place is said to have literally anything. It may not be as exciting as the others' trips but I'm sure this just as important, or even more so." Linnie states, goggling at all the items for sale.

"I guess you're right..." I reply. I read the grocery list that we were given. It's long, covering the paper in ink both front and back. There were minimal descriptions for each item. We'll need something to carry all of this. "Stay here, I'll grab a shopping cart."

I went to the long line of shopping carts, fetched one, and returned back to Linnie. They held a thick stack of cash in their hands. Seeing it, I felt compelled to take it.

' _Don't_.' I told myself.

"Do you think this will cover it?" They asked. I already knew how much there was. 650$, the royalty check from dad. I rarely ever got such luxuries, my dad kept his because we weren't well off, financially. Though I'm suprised that dad still gets royalty checks. It has been twenty-five years since the Princess Turdina revolution began. And the selling of merchandise is still going strong today.

"I hope so." I replied.

It was difficult to navigate the labyrinthine store. It is almost as if it were made to deliberately confuse buyers. We strolled down the aisles, stopping occaisionally to check the shelves for the necessary objects. We found a few of them, mostly mundane stuff like ear plugs, celery, and an electric guitar. I don't see how those would help but I threw them in the cart anyways. There were so many strange and awesome things here. I found myself constantly poking and prodding stuff.

"Hey Linnie, check this out," I pointed at a giant target peppered with a few holes and arrows. "Try hitting the bull's eye!"

"But then we would have to pay for it." Linnie said hesitantly.

"Don't worry, it is only for testing. It says so in the corner." I said. They squinted their eyes, trying to see the text at the corner. They went closer to it, reading the text, before coming back.

"Okay then. I'll try it." Linnie affirmed. They stuck their arms into their hair. They rifled through the grassy strands for a moment before pulling out a crossbow. They got an arrow, nocked it, and aimed. Holding it up to their face, it was made steady. With a thwack, the arrow buried its shaft somewhere near the center but not quite.

"Awesome." I praised.

"Let me try again, I'm sure it's just these bangs obscuring my vision." They said, blowing the hair out of their eyes. They nocked an arrow, aimed, and shot. Once again, it landed away from the center. This was done over and over again. Nock the arrow, aim, and shoot.

"I'm sure I can get it, I just have to try again..." And again. And again. Each time Linnie tries, they squint. They constantly squint at things while looking at something far away. Linnie also tends to bring books or pictures closer to thier face than what other people usually do. Once, they mistook a dragon far away for a bird. A bird! It's like they're blind or something.

Or Linnie has vision problems?

While they were too busy shooting arrows, I went to the eyewear aisle. I picked up several glasses, each with a different prescription. I was about to grab the eye chart when I found this machine scanner thing. Labled upon its side was: Vision scanner. Huh, a scanner for vision problems. They really do have everything here. I returned to the target aisle with it and an armful of glasses. Linnie lifted the crossbow to their eyes once more. Tossing their head, they said, "This time, this time for sure..."

Linnie let the arrow fly. It hit the edge. "Look here, Linnie." I said. They turned to look at me. I raised the Vision Scanner up to their eyes and pressed a button. With a flash, a set of numbers appeared on the back. A code. I lowered the glasses on to the floor, hoping not to break them. There was a tag on them, each labled with a code. I checked the lables looking for one that matches the code on the scanner. After a minute of searching, I found one, with white frames and squared lenses.

I gave the glasses to Linnie. "Try this on."

They complied. Walking around, they took in the surroundings. "Everything is... clear."

"Try shooting the bull's eye," I told them. "Maybe you could finally do it!"

They got their crossbow, an arrow still upon it's string. They fired, and it landed right at the center. Linnie turned to me, brown eyes wide and shiny. "I did it!"

"Hell yeah you did!" I said.

"How'd you know that I needed glasses?" they asked.

"Observation. And this." I replied, holding up the Vision Scanner. Linnie took it, checking it intently.

"If only we had such technology in Mewni." they said. "Let's get going." We kept walking down the aisles, picking things off the shelves. Navigating the maze of shelves and lanes was time consuming. The placement of the sectors for different products was inconvenient. Like why would a perfectly sane person put the infant needs right next to the dangerous artillery and weapons? Just... Why!? What's the baby going to do, become a soldier for its first birthday?

Next to the weapons and artillery section was the substances in fragile containers section. Linnie swiped a few strangely colored tubes into the cart. "If life is meaningless and the multiverse is indifferent to us, does that mean that all we are doing doesn't matter? Are things such as kindess, hope, and loss only important if there is a higher power in the universe? What is important?"

While Linnie is having an existential crisis, I accidentally bashed my little toe onto an enormous box. I think I heard something break in there, but I don't care.

"God!" I yelped, clutching my foot.

"God? I never knew you were religious, Landon." Linnie said.

"No, it's just- ah," I grit my teeth and sqeeze my eyes shut in pain. I hear Linnie come over to fret over me. "My toe." I open my eyes again. My eyelashes were wet.

"Landon! Are you okay?" They ask.

"He shall be fine." a voice said. I looked up, releasing my foot to see an elderly woman standing several feet away from me. She wore a long, pale gray dress. Her hair was hidden beneath an icy blue turban. She smiled sweetly, a smile that reminded me of my abuelita. I was tempted to return it with a grin of my own.

"Hello, old lady!" Linnie greeted. She looked around sixty or seventy. Crows feet decorated her eyes. She must've smiled a lot.

"Hello children," She replied. Children? Linnie's 15 and I'm going to be 17 in a month! She came closer. A wrinkled hand touched my forearm. "I do wish to show you something."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, what is it?" And why would she want me to see something?

"Come this way." she says, turning around and walking. I turn to Linnie who simply shrugs their shoulders and follows her. Naturally, I tag along. Why? What does she want from us? I stayed close to Linnie, just in case. She stopped at the corner of one of the huge shelves.

"It's just behind here. Come with me." she said.

"Okay lets go!" Linnie said. They were about to go around the shelf until the woman stopped them.

"No, I don't mean you, I'm talking about your friend over here." the woman said, looking at me.

"What? Why me? Anything you can tell me can also be told to Linnie." I declare. People of the multiverse, if some creepy old woman tells you she wants to show you something and you have to go somewhere and leave your best friend behind, don't. You don't know who she is or what she wants. For all I know, Voldemort might be living in the back of her head under her tuban!

"Don't worry, Landon," Linnie says, placing a hand on my shoulder, trying assuring me. "I'm sure the old lady has her reasons. I can wait." It didn't assuage my worries but I smiled anyways.

"There is nothing to be afraid about. And please don't call me old lady." she said. I'm not afraid! Just cautious...

"Yes, young man!" they replied. The old woman didn't say anything. She led me to the other side of the shelf.

It... wasn't what I expected. Instead of more shelves and aisles, I found myself in a simple room with wood plank walls, like the inside of a crate. It was mostly empty, except for the small wooden table in the center. Two chairs were on each side. Atop the table was a single glassy orb. A crystal ball. My mom uses it to see the future, but it doesn't always work. Whenever I try, it is often inaccurate.

I suddendly felt queasy. What's this gonna be? I looked behind me to see a door. I don't remember opening a door. The woman sat on a chair. She beckoned me to come sit. I thought about making a run for it before taking a seat. The woman smiled. "You must be wondering why you are here, Landon Diaz."

"I'm here because you brought me here, lady. I bet you're going to tell me my future, aren't you?" I said. I'm also guessing that the reason she knows my name is because she saw me in some sort of vision from the ball. Such details were difficult to scry. She must be a professional of some sort.

"Correct. I saw you in the future, so I brought you here." She said. I'm right! "I'm an oracle, it is my job that fate goes at it should."

"Okay, then tell me my future." I said. She puts her hands together and eyes me carefully.

"You had a bad dream last night, did you not?" So now she knows my name AND the fact that I had a nightmare. How much does she know? She isn't scrying right now, so she should have known this already. The only person I told about my dream is Linnie. It was one I couldn't forget. I nodded.

"Care to tell me about it?" she asked. I guess it wouldn't hurt. So I told her the story.

It was the dead of night. I was in the middle of the forest, the gnarled branches high above my head. The twigs crunched under my sneakers. I was walking, to where and why, I didn't know. Linnie tagged along, gripping the edge of my plaid flannel shirt sleeve frightfully, like a child fearing to be lost. Our fingertips were cold.

I crack reached my ears. It was miniscule, but it alerted me, nonetheless. I stopped in my tracks. I listened to the night.

A canine-like creature leaped out of the thickets. Shadows clung to its fur, like souls clinging onto life. I feared that it would attack me, devour me, and I dashed behind a tree, feeling wind lash my face. But the attack never came. A sickening crack in the darkness. Warily I turned to peek over the side of the tree trunk. What I saw scarred me for life.

My best friend's head in the creature's jaws, grassy green hair now dark with blood. Their body hung limply, but the fingers twitched as they fought survival. The beast's teeth were now stained pink with blood, mouth drooling.

No...

I was frozen with shock. I couldn't move, rush to help, I just stood there, tranfixed on Linnie's glassy eyes. My own eyes welled with tears. The beast growled as it stared right at me, but its stare seemed to go beyond me. Pain shot up my leg. The ground was pulled away from beneath my feet. Another one of those canines was dragging me. I wanted to fight, shout, cry, but I couldn't. The cruel singing of the birds mocked me, almost laughing at my predicament. All I could do was await my painful death.

"And that is how I died." I replied. Telling the story was a little uncomfortable. I've had few dreams so realistic like these in the past, but they all had something in common.

They all came true.

She nods in understanding. "Dreams are often visions of the future. Your mother has told you that already." Why does she keep knowing things?! Privacy please?

"But this is just a dream." I said. This can't be true. We can't die so early in life. Yet, I had a feeling about this dream. A feeling I couldn't shake off, like ticks in a dog's fur.

"Nay, child. This vision of yours is to come true." No, it won't. But I can't deny it. The words of an oracle only solidified my suspicions. "That is why I brought you here today. It goes against what is supposed to happen. Linnie mustn't die so early on."

"So what do I do?" I asked, hopeful.

"I don't know." she replied.

"You don't know?" I asked, incredulously. "You don't know!? HOW could you not know!? You can see the future! Stop it from happening!"

"That is not how it works. My job is to protect fate, not change it. And your friend is fated to die, but later than sooner." No... My hearbeat went a little faster. She's just a crazy old lady, right? Right?

"You need to save them, Landon. When you see these creatures, then do everything in your power to stop them from attacking Linnie," spoke the oracle. "If they die... who knows what will happen?"

"Please," I implored, "Please tell me how I can save them. Linnie is my best friend. My sibling. They are everything to me." Her face softened in sympathy. My knuckled turned white as my nails dug into my palms. When I came here, I was a mess. Dad lost his job, mom had to sell the house, and Hannah(my little sister) and I had to move house and schools. But when I came here, Linnie helped me deal with my problems. I'm happy here. It's an escape. I've even been considering not going back home! But I have to, my family waits for me.

"I told you child, I don't know. But by telling you this, I hope you can bring destiny back on the right path. Fix the error in the timelines and bring everyone home. Even you." she said.

I stood up. My eyes and cheeks were warm. I left the table and opened the door. Glaring lights from Questbuy peirced my eyes. I could see Linnie standing and waiting for me. I looked at the old woman from over my shoulder. Her eyes were cast downward, the corners of her mouth lowered. Hmph. I shut the door behind me. Shouldn't have listened to her.

' _But if you hadn't, you would'nt had known Linnie would die_.' A little voice piped.

' _Shut up_.' I replied. Now I'm talking to myself-

"Landon! What did she say?" Linnie bounded up to me. They stopped abruptly, smile wiped off of their face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I spoke sharply. They gaped a little, as if midway in a sentence. Their lips pursed. They took one of my hands and inspected my palm. They frowned. Is this palm reading? I looked. Oh. Blood. Cresent shaped cuts on my palm from my nails digging in my skin. Linnie dabbed the blood away with their hoodie sleeve. It was red, so it didn't show very much.

"Landon, if their is something bothering you, you don't have to hide," they said, holding my hand. "You don't need to tell me what's wrong, if you want. Just know that I'm here for you."

I looked into their eyes, framed by the whites of the glasses. They looked no different than the ones I see in the mirror. My vision blurred, and I blinked, only to feel something warm, hot trickle down my cheeck. Tears.

Linnie wrapped me in a hug. I didn't resist. I sighed as I let my emotions break through, like water out of a broken dam, dripping from my eyes. Other shoppers are probably going to stare at us but fuck them. I don't give a damn anymore. Their words comforted me, spoken with care and sincerity. Kindness such as this is rare to find. I wish I could give back what they had given me. I wish our friendship can last forever. But we can't keep staying here, playing games. We have families and responsibilities in our timelines. I hate responsibilities.

I felt kind of guilty for not telling them why I was crying. I know it worries them. If I told them about their impending death, it would just worry them more. I raised my head from thier tear soaked shoulder. Drying my face with a sleeve, I mustered a tiny smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem. Want to grab something to eat before getting everything and going back to Mewni? I know food always lifts your spirits." Linnie asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Yeah, that would be great."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late chapter. School is going to start soon at my place and I won't have much time to write anymore. I might start updating every two weeks when school starts. I hope y'all are okay with it.


	10. Chapter 10: Nyx's POV

Pine trees pierced the sky, like arrowheads. There was a chill in the air, one signalling the beginning of autumn after a hot summer. I revelled in the scent of pine and soil. The portal had just closed behind us, leaving us two standing awkwardly. I was excited to explore this new world. The same thing couldn't be said about my partner. William Lucitor glared at me, shaking his wrist from where I pulled at. I made a mental note to be more gentle next time.

"Hey! Do you know how rude it is to kidnap someone and bring them to whatever this place is? Can't you ask before dragging me here?" he complained.

"Do you know how rude it is to play Minecraft while someone is speaking to you? We have work to do, princess." I retorted. I guess what I did was quite uncouth, but I don't want to admit it. "Also, we're in a different dimension's Earth, Oregon. Here, take this." I shoved a paper in his hands. A list of what we need to find. He raises his veiw from the list and looks at me.

"So how do we find this?" Will asks, pointing at the paper in his hands. I already know what he means. A circular, turqious stone. Its properties are great, and its dust is a vital part of the spell. It could be used as a dangerous weapon of mass destruction if it falls into the wrong hands.

"I don't know. It has some crazy properties so keep an eye out for floating objects and blue-ish fire." I replied. He raised an eyebrow. "Magic. Blue fire, like the one you make."

"Yeah, I know." Will said. "I'm just wondering: are we supposed to just wander around this place until we find it?"

I looked at him strangely. "Yes."

He frowned, putting his hands up in an exasperated manner. "What?! That's like finding a needle in a haystack! It's going to take forever!"

"Then we better get going, shall we?" I replied. "Don't fret, its effects are pretty darn noticable. I'm sure we'll find it in no time." He face palmed, but didn't reply. What a drama queen. Personally, I like long walks in the woods. The air, the life forms, it never ceases to amaze me. Will put on a pair of earphones, listening to some music. He's always wearing that. Ever since his fancy headphones vanished, he bought earphones saying that it was better because it was lighter and easier. To me, they're just the same. Headphones are simply sound making earmuffs.

We continued walking in silence. He's not much of a talker, I suppose. This dimension's Earth is supposed to be completely normal. Yet, we kept seeing weird stuff everywhere we went. Once, I saw a pterodactyl flying overhead. I tried to alert him of its presence but he was too distracted with his music and missed it. A few glittery warnicorns ran amidst the evergreens. Or unicorns, just the same. I tried talking to one but it said something about how I'm not 'pure of heart' enough to be worthy of their guidance. Silly Earth warnicorns.

After a few hours of searching, we stumbled across a small campsite. There was a makeshift tent made by draping some sort of waterproof sheet over a low hanging tree branch. We were greeted by two boys who stayed there. Both were brunettes, each wearing a blue baseball cap and a raincoat, despite the lack of rain. They looked to be around twelve or thirteen, and had a pale, almost paper-ish appearance. The only way to tell them apart was from their baseball caps, one has a 3 on it while the other has a 4. Twins? Maybe.

We introduced ourselves. They called each other Tracey and Quattro, three and four respectively. They explained that they weren't twins, but clones. Clones of who, I don't know. Will relit the fire which was put out by the rain earlier before we came. I magicked some burritos for lunch. I offered the two boys some but they politely refused. A peculiar choice considering their lack of food or water supplies.

"Do you know where we can find some sort of magical gemstone? This one in particular?" Will asked, showing them the paper with the drawing of the stone. The two of them observed it, familiarity etched onto their faces.

"I think I might have seen it before..." Quattro said.

"-The amulet!" Tracey exclaimed. "It's Gideon's amulet!" Quattro nodded, also remembering this. The stone _could_ be used as an amulet. I'm not sure if it would be healthy though, especially since it is known to whiten hair.

"Who's Gideon? And how do you know about it?" I asked. The two boys looked at each other, as if to question the other. They nodded, coming into a silent agreement.

"Long story. Basically, Gideon tried to kill me- well, the guy we were cloned from and used the amulet to do it. But then Mabel threw it on a rock an destroyed it." Tracey expounded. Before I could ask them about Mabel, he replied, "She's our twin sister. Well, the first Dipper's twin." I assume that Dipper is the name of the guy they were cloned from. Funny name, but I like it. But why would someone's parents name their kid after an oversized spoon?

"Wait, so it doesn't work anymore?" Will asked. The two clones nodded. "So we've been wandering this creepy forest for nothing!?" Smoke plumed out of his sleeves, heat radiating from him. The burning of his burrito fill the campsite. The clones looked at each other nervously. I took out my wand from my jacket, fearing a fight.

"Hey, cut it out! You're gonna burn your lunch!" I said, leaning away from him and holding my wand out threateningly. Even with my wand, I don't think I could deafeat him if he started to go beserk. Thankfully, the smoking stopped, but he didn't look any less pissed. He grumpilty took a bite of his burrito. "I'm sure there's another way to get the stone somehow." I smiled, hoping to comfort him.

"Well, the peices of the amulet might still be where it was broken." said Quattro.

"We don't need to have it intact. In fact, we were going to crush it into powder!" I said, hitting my fist onto my palm. The amulet intact is unstable and difficult to distribute. When in powder form, its powers aren't nearly as sporadic and it would be easier to mark the spell area with.

"Why do you need it anyways?" Tracey asked. It doesn't seem wrong to tell him of our conundrum. He's from a different dimension, so telling him probably wouldn't change the timeline. I opened my mouth to speak, but my companion beat me to it.

"You know how one timeline has multiple different future timelines? Nyx, our friends, and I come from different future timelines. And after some time travelling shenanigans, we all got stuck in the same timeline and we can't get out. Not getting out means all of us ceasing to exist." Will explained. "Also, all of us have the same dad."

"Except me, I have two moms. And Will and I aren't related. We need it so we can cast a spell to go back to our original timeline." I piped in between burrito bites. The clones didn't respond in the way I expected. They simply nodded, as if it were a common occurence. What kind of stuff do these guys face?

"The amulet was destroyed over the cliff where the Tent of Telepathy was. Mabel smashed it against a rock after Dipper fell off the cliff so it must be near town." Quattro said.

"What town?" Will asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't know? We're in Gravity falls, Oregon."

"Gravity falls huh..." I hummed. "Where do we find this cliff or rock you speak of?"

"Oh, it's near the edge of the forest and surrounded by trailers. I don't know how to get there though. We're both too deep and lost in the forest." he said. This must be a pretty deep forest. But if they're THAT deep in, how did they get their raincoats? Were they originally from the town before getting lost?

"Alright. Thanks for the help." Will answered. The two clones nodded.

"You sure you don't want some?" I asked, waving my almost-completely-eaten lunch.

"Nah, we don't need to eat. Good luck." Quattro said. I kept my questions to myself. We waved goodbye, and as we left, the strumming of a banjo sung with the cackle of the fire. So they also have a banjo. Huh.

 

 

For hours, we trudged through the forest, my head buzzing with the new information. Like the last time, it was mostly quiet, even with the occaisional encounter with Gravity Fall's peculiar wildlife. I tried to get directions from a gnome, but he only said "Shmebulock." Whatever that means.

Will disliked walking, he wasn't used to doing it for a long period of time because of his royal duties or something. I have a few duties myself, yet, I still have plently of time to walk around and not be lazy. He tried floating, but everytime he did fire would erupt from his feet and burn anything it came into contact with. A forest fire is something I definitely do not want so I insisted he keep his feet on the ground, much to his dismay.

I kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Not that there was anything ordinary here. No floaty things or blue-ish fire that does not involve Will. I should've come up with a better plan. 'Walk around and hope to find something'? What was I thinking! I did try to find a different way but there were very few records of the stone. I had barely been able to trace it to this forest.

I looked around. Only evergreen trees and pinecones. They were everywhere. Was it already the season for pinecones? Most of them were small, only a few inches in length. But a few were bigger, reaching to a foot long. One of the larger ones was littered on the dirt, its spikes calling to me. I wanted to keep going but... I don't know. I just wanted to take it.

I picked it up. I was mesmerized by the spiral of wooden scales. It caught the sun's rays like a crystal, shining and shimmering. Blinding euphoria rushed through my veins as my fingertips danced across the scales. I don't know why, I don't know how, but I NEEDED to make a tribute to this pinecone. I grinned, raised it up high and started rhymically bending my knees. I sang, with my off-tune voice.

"Young man, there's pinecones to be found  
I said young man! There are cones on the ground  
I said young man! They will make plenty of sound  
If you hide! Them! In! Your! Pine! Hole!"

Something collided painfully with my cheek. Instantly, I was no longer infatuated with pinecones. My vision refocused and saw Will, eyes wide, staring at me. He gripped my shoulders, his hands starting to steam. I fear that he might burn a hole through my jacket.

"Hey, look at me," he said. "You're really weirding me out, Nyx."

"This is the third time someone told me that this week. What happened?" I asked.

"Well you started dancing and singing while holding that," he pointed to the giant cone, his face wrinkled with displeasure. I must've dropped it when he slapped me. Or maybe he removed it from my hands. Either way, it worked. "And your skin! Turning to bark! And your hair was turning into ash!" I reached back to the tips of my dark, mid-length hair. I pulled away, and saw soot on my fingers. Looks like he wasn't lieing.

"Come on, let's get out of here before we both lose our minds. Also, your singing voice is horrible." he said. True. We continued to tread this forest, albiet a little more carefully this time.

"Well, can you sing better?" I asked. He smiled, his teeth were flat and moonlight white, vastly different from the typical demon.

"Of course! One of the best in the Underworld!" he seemed to take great pride in this. I bet he also knows how to dance. I have heard that his dad, Thomas, is one of the best dancers in Mewni. I wonder if Tom can sing too.

 

 

The sun dipped below the horizon, blanketing the sky in blacks and blues. We set up camp in a flat and elevated area. I didn't cast any tent making spells, Will wanted to admire the Earth skyline during the night. Probably because the Underworld doesn't have a night and day cycle. I laid down a picnic blanket over the grass and some sandwiches for dinner. He made a campfire, but the instant he set the wood ablaze, the fire turned orange again. We settled down next to each other.

"Aww, the fire's boring ol' red now. If only we could oxidize it somehow." I said, a little proud of my rhyme. I had impaled a stick through my sandwich, and toasted it over the fire. The heat should melt the cheese inside while toasting the bread. Will throught it was a stupid idea, I thought it was awesome.

"You could use your wand," Will said. "If you could make food and stuff appear, surely you can make some oxygen do too. Or alcohol, I hear that works too." I wish I had as much faith in myself as he did. Using the wand is a lot harder than it looks.

I took my wand out, and held it by the bell. I pointed the glassy end of the rod at the burning wood and followed mommy(Star)'s advice: _Visualize it in your mind, then let it out of your wand. Easy as pie! Like holding a breath before exhaling._ I, however, don't know what oxygen looks like. I tried to focus on air, lightweight and invisble. My wand paused before blowing a raspberry. I put it down in defeat "I can't do it."

Will look at me, doubtful. "You can teleport and conjure stuff but you can't make air?"

"I can only do the basic spell casting. Creating liquids and solids are basics, but teleportation is the most and only advanced spell I could do."

"Then how are you able to cast the spell that will bring us home?" he asked.

"That's different! Wand magic involves a lot of the magic that someone is born with. And I just so happen to be absolutely terrible at it." I sighed. Will's face was painted with confusion. I explained, "Before I inherited the wand, everyone expected me to be amazing at it, myself included, because I was the daughter of the powerful Queen Star and the Earth occultist, Queen Janna. But when I got it, I disappointed everybody. I was no good with wand magic, so Glossaryck introduced me to alchemy, which is just magical chemistry. Which is why I always carry around a bunch of weird chemicals." I held up several small bottles and vials in between my fingers. I store some in my jacket pockets for when I need to use them. The glassy containers have magical enhancements to it that prevents breakage so it doesn't get destroyed when I do something rough.

"Yet, a lot of people were let down by my less than adequate abilities in magic. How can I be a good queen if I can't protect my people? I'm afraid of what baby will say when the time comes for judgement..." I munched on my sandwich morosely, still impaled on the stick. Amazingly, the bread wasn't completely burnt, but it was toasted unevenly. I wanted to show it off to Will, tell him that I told him so, but I wasn't in the mood right now.

"Baby?" he asked. Of course, he wouldn't know. He lives in the Underworld.

"A magic flying cat who judges a princess' abilities in magic and other stuff." I replied. My mother has told me of the day when the feline had graded her as a fourteen hear old. She passed, only because of her natural talent in magic.

"Hey, just because you aren't as good at magic as your ancestors were doesn't mean you can't protect your people. My dad says not to let the words of others bring you down." he says. I've heard that one before. Even when you pretend to ignore them, the words still sting. Like a whip against bare flesh. I wonder which one of his fathers has said that. It sounds kinda like something Marco would say, but it might be Tom's words.

"Which one?" I asked.

"Thomas. He works hard to rule the Underworld alone. I have to help him, part of princely duties and all." He said. Helping the king? All royal heirs have their duties but actually doing part of the ruling? How old is he, sixteen? Fifteen? He seems a little young for that.

"You? Ruling as a prince?" He nodded. "But isn't that he job of the king consort?"

The moment those words left my lips, the atmosphere changed. His eyes fell downcast onto the fire. Uh oh. Sensitive subject. There was a long pause, a lapse in time. A minute passed without speaking. He spoke. "No. No, he doesn't. Not anymore."

Not anymore? Does that mean Marco died? Divorced? I was piqued, I wanted to know more. Tentatively, I asked him,"Why?"

A tired sigh escaped his lips. "When I was five, there was a ceremony. It happened during the democratic revolt. The people didn't want a monarchy and a heir who was only a quarter of a demon, so they tried to assasinate us. But they only suceeded in killing papa."

I wanted to speak my condolensces, but he continued. "There was so much blood... Dad was inconsolable... The rebels almost suceeded. I had to take on part of my papa's duty as prince. Even after the revolt was silenced, people still didn't like the fact that I had only a little bit of demon blood in my veins. They claimed that I tainted the bloodline, had deemed it impure." At the age of five? He was forced to grow up so early. He's an emotional guy, I've seen him cry over spilled milk. Literally.

I rarely ever have to partake in such duties, thanks to both of my parents doing most of the work. I felt more thankful for my moms. Losing any one of them is difficult to imagine. A wave of nosatagia washed over me. I wish to see them again. I wish Will could see his parents again.

He poked the fiery coals remorsely. "I can remember days, when things weren't always this way. Papa, when he was still there for me. He was very strong."

"Yeah, Marco's a great guy." I may not know him the way my friends do, but I know that he's a good person. My fellow time travellers show great admiration for him. He is simple and pretty average, but there's just something about him that makes him interesting. Strangely, I'm the only one with no relation to him whatsoever. Everyone came to this timeline because of him, except me. So why was I here? Questions buzzed in my mind.

"I guess we aren't so different, with people already despising both our future reigns even before they start." His words pulled me out of my thoughts. I suppose he's right.

"Huh, I guess you're right. But just because you're only one-fourth demon and I'm bad at magic doesn't mean we're the unrightful rulers. We'll prove to them that we can rule our kingdoms harmoniously!" I cheered. He smiled, looking comforted, but not fully convinced. If only he would actually believe it.

"Hopefully. I'm tired from all that walking. Wait, how do people sleep when camping?" Will asked. "Is there a special bed for outdoors sleeping of some sort?"

Personally, I thought it was a little early to be sleeping. But I like staying up late, so I guess he's just more of an early bird than I am. With a wave of my wand, two sleeping bags and pillows appeared on the checkered blanket. "Yes, it's called a sleeping bag. Pretty cool, eh?"

We each crawled over to a bag closest to us. I fussed with the zipper for a second before shrugging off my jacket and making myself comfortable in my bed. I took off my cat ears headband and placed in a messy pile with my bomber jacket. Will looked distastefully in my direction, his blazer folded delicately beside him. I rolled to my side to face him.

"Will?" He hummed in response. "I'm sorry that I didn't make a better plan for finding the gemstone. And bringing you here without your permission. We had to walk around the forest all for nothing." I apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure we'll find a way." he replied, sleepily.

"'Cause if there's a Will, there's a way." I said, grinning at my pun. Honestly, I'm kind of proud of it. However, he groaned, exasperated, and tugged his sleeping bag around himself.

"Goodnight, Will." I said. I blinked, and my eyes wandered. Goodnight Will's fancy suit. I thought. I don't know why, but I always have to check if everything is there before I sleep. Some sort of weird habit, I suppose. Goodnight jacket filled with gazillions of chemicals. Goodnight glowing illuminati triangle at my feet. I laid my head on my pillow to sleep. Everything seems to be in place.

Except for that triangle.

I jerked into a sitting position. My eyes shot to where the eye of providence used to be, only to find shadows residing. No triangle. Just me being paranoid, which is supposed to be Will's job. My wild imagination must be running rampant again. Uneasily, I shimmied into my sleeping bag and closed my eyes. The plush cushion embraced my skin. Nothing to fear, just me being frightened here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Gravity falls crossover! I don't want to add it to the tags, I don't think it's all that necessary. Nyx and Will visit a little after the events of Gravity Falls. Apparently, clones 3 and 4 are canonically called Tracey and Quattro, according to the wiki. I have a headcanon that they grew separate personalities over time. Also, in this AU when the royal consort dies, the heir has to take a part of the consort's job. I hope you enjoyed this!


	11. Chapter 11: Nyx's POV

"Hey readers!" I said, sipping a glass of lemonade with sprinkles in it. "I bet y'all didn't expect me to have my POV maintained for two chapters in a row! In a row!" I threw my hands up to emphasize my point, throwing my glass overboard the cloud I floated on. Oops.

I peered over the edge. There was no visible ground, only thick glittery mist obscuring my view. Something swift, sharp and burning whistled past my ear. My head swivled back. A neon green light shone in the distance. I shivered, it gave me the willies. I hopped off my cloud, my feet finding the ground shortly. The ground was pitch black and shone with the bright colors of an oil spill. Strangely, there was no mist or any sign of clouds. Eyeballs with bat wings fluttered in the turquoise sky. Runaway sweaters flew among them. Stalagmites of unmelting ice cream towered into the heavens above. But it wasn't cold? 

The wind ran itself through my hair. I clutched my jacket lapels to stop it from fluttering. What is up with this wind? A silvery light shone from the sky. I stood and raised my head. An orb of white that wasn't there earlier. It can't be the moon, it is far too clear and smooth. I squinted, there's too much light. A thick line wormed down the sphere. With a flash, a triangular body appeared, the white circle in the center. An eye. Wow! Nature sure is weird.

The triangle was floating now, its golden glow soft on my skin. The sphere was a single, slit-pupil eye. It had two stick-like arms and legs. It was obviously a snazzy dresser, wearing top hat and a tie. It appeared two dimemsional, not a pyramid, just a flat, cartoonish triangle. When it spoke, its voice was high pitched and slightly echoey, as if put through a machine. "Hello!"

"Wow, hello Mister triangle!" I replied

"Call me Bill! Bill Cipher. Never call me that ever again!" He replied. The last part dropped a few octaves. It definitely sounded like a threat. Best not to anger the ruler of the new world order.

"Oh, I'm not the one who runs the Illuminati, just started it. All that triangle symbolism is their worship to me, Nyx Butterfly." He said. Whaaat. How did he know what I was thinking? Did he... read my mind?

"Oh, I know A LOT OF THINGS." Bill answered. The end part echoed louder, reverbrating all around. So omniscience AND mind reading powers. I felt like my privacy was being breached. But if he knows a lot then maybe I could get some answers to some questions I've had for a while...

"A lot? Tell me: was the American moon landing faked?" I asked.

An image of an astronaut appeared on his body, as if it were a screen. A camera man filmed him striking the dusty ground with an American flag. "You bet. The moon is actually a giant alien satellite used to monitor Earth. ALL the moon landings are fake."

"But enough about that," He said before I could question him on John F. Kennedy's assasination. "We both know what you REALLY want to know..." Another image appeared on his body: A turqious amulet. A circle of bronze kept the circular gem in place. My breath caught in my throat. The mystic amulet! This is the one we've been looking for!

"How? Where? Why?!" I chirped.

"Eager one, are you Blue?" Blue? What an uncreative nick-name. Of course I'm blue! Blue eyes, Blue dress, Blue-ish black hair, blue everywhere! If he heard my thoughts he ignored them. "I know where you can find it. But you have to do something for me first."

I said, almost challenging him. "Tell me."

He looked pleased by my reaction. "Remember this?" Bill asks as a picture of a jar of greenish-gray liquid with an eyeball float appeared. "You can find it in Queen Galaxia's room. Find this flower in the deserted dance room-" A dusty room with a domed ceiling. It zooms in to a golden flower sitting on a window sill. "and mix them together. That's all I ask."

That can't be too difficult. I actually recognize the two places. And that for the thing we've been looking for all day! 

"So do we have a deal?" Bill asks. He holds a hand out, which is engulfed in blue flames. It bears a striking similarity to Will's own fire, except Will's fire becomes slightly purplish when particularly angry. This fire tells me that this is no ordinary deal, it is the deal that if broken has very real and VERY dangerous consequences. 

There was a seed of doubt in my mind. After all, demons that want to make deals with you are notorious for thier deceit. But this could really help us go home. I don't want to let down my friends. I grab his hand and shook it. "Deal! Now tell me... where is the amulet?"

He snapped his fingers. I gasped as a tingly sensation fell upon me. I had a clarity beyond reasoning. The snap of his fingers seemed to shake the world and drag on. The colors looked more vibrant, the sky brightened, and everything just seemed right. This was astonishing! Until it just stopped, as quick and hard as a lightning bolt. Everything was back to normal. Like a closed window. "What just happened?"

"There! I gave you what you asked for, kid." Bill replied.

"What? But I asked to know where to find it! It's not like... what..." The amulet... it is close by. I know where it is. That snap must've been magic! I replayed on where it is, and it is mind blowing. "Whoa..."

The eye of providence chuckled, smiling. Well, sort of. His eye was curved upward, in a happy manner. "Well, it looks like my work here is done. And let's just keep this between you and me, alright Blue? Don't tell your friend." What? Why? Blue light peirced the air around him. I squinted as it glowed brighter and brighter. "Remember: realiy is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!" And with that, he vanished in a blink of light. I rubbed my eyes. Hooray, I can find the amulet! Now I just to find where I am in this awesome place...

 

"Nyx wake up, it's morning." I stir, shifting my body a little under the covers. My eyes crack open, only to be flooded with harsh sunlight. I groan, and bury my face in the pillow.

"Nyyyyx, it's seven o'clock. We still haven't found the amulet, and it's late." The voice persists. Late? Seven is too early to wake up, I wanna sleep in! I wave a hand at it.

"Too early mommy..." I mumbled, hugging the pillow closer to my face.

"I'm William Lucitor, not your mommy. Now get up, I found some berries in a bush nearby." Will said. The pillow slipped out beneath my head. The smell of the dried leaves and dirt on my face was enough to wake me up. I looked up at him, pillow in his hands, smug. Groggily, I rose from my bed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

A few large leaves were placed on the picnic blanket. So he did get some breakfast. How nice. Tiny, pitch black berries lay on each leaf. I picked one up, and inspected it. It looks like your average black berry, sprouting from a green, five pointed growth. I asked him, "What berries?"

"These ones, from that bush." He pointed at a bush a few yards away, with berries and bells-shaped reddish brown flowers. "Now eat up." Reddish brown flowers? I looked closer. Oh no. He picked one off the leaf, ready to eat it.

"I wouldn't eat those if I were you." I said. He raised a brow, questioning. "Those are nightshade berries. A few of those and you're dead meat." His eyes widened at this. He dropped the berries back onto the leaf and pushed it away. I waved my wand, bowls of cereal appearing in our hands.

"Now for some real breakfast!" I exclaimed, stirring the contents with my wand. It takes the form of a laboratory stirring rod, so it makes a good mixer. I magicked some spoons and we ate.

After finishing our meal, I dematerialized the blanket and sleeping bags back into the wand. We continued our search for the stone, picking up where we left off. I took the lead. With my newfound knowledge, I didn't bother to look around for it. I already knew where it was. I enjoyed myself, doing cartwheels and spinning around tree barks. Will thought it was strange. Strange? He should get a good look at his tail. Now THAT is strange.

After some time, the forest became less dense. Tree stumps began appearing. The singing of creatures became scarce. Leaves no longer choked out the sunbeams, brightening the area. Eventually, we came to a clearing at a cliff. Rocks rested on the ground. A few leaves tumbled by, only to be consumed by aquamarine flames and wither away. Somehow, the fire hasn't touched the rest of the forest. A few rocks levitated off the ground before falling back down. But they weren't of importance.

"Is this where it's supposed to be?" Will asked.

"Maybe?" I feigned. I knew where the amulet is to the tee. And it was most definitely here. Bill said not to tell anyone. But I do want to tell him, lieing and faking makes me feel very uncomfortable.

Thankfully, he didn't ask any more questions. He walked around the rocks, lifing one up every now and then. I sighed internally.

I walked to the rock. This one. A few scorch marks marred it. My palms pressed against its cold surface, and I pushed it a little away. It's there. So close. I kneeled, and scratched at the dirt. A turquiose glint met my eyes. I grinned. Yes! Finally! I pulled out a shard of gem and raised it in victory.

"Ah ha! Yes! Will, look! a shard!" I squealed. There were more, I know. But I can't help but feel the sweet, chocolatey taste of victory after all this wandering around. I bet victory tastes like Nutella. Or Ferrero.

He came over, suprised. His eyes widened when he saw it. "Whoa! Is there more?" I nodded, and used my wand to better dig out the dirt. Probably not a good choice, the wand is often used to stir my chemicals and hot coco. Nevertheless, I struck the glassy end of it into the soil of the Earth. I picked another shard. And another. Until I knew that was all that was left of it.

I took out my dimensional scissors, and giggled. "That's all of it. We're free!"

"Well, what are you waiting for? Open the portal!" He said, a cheshire grin upon his face. I cut downward, the heavy fabric of reality tearing open. Will, with eagerness I had never before seen in him, lept through the portal. Amulet peices in hand, I stepped back into Mewni. As much as I liked Gravity Falls, it was good to be back home. Or home in the past. Past home.

We were back in our bedroom. It was midnight, quite unlike Gravity Falls. Thunder boomed outside, singing with the rain. The soggy curtains swayed as a cold draft entered the room through the window. If only it had glass. My friends' slept, covered in heavy blankets and furs. I wasn't sleepy. In fact, I had just woken up some hours ago.

I pocketed the gemstone pieces. "Bed time? Nope! Not today!" I rebelled. 

Will threw himself upon his bed and cried. "Oh bed! For eons we have been separated! But now, after all these years, we can be together again!"

"Shh!" I shushed, a finger to my lips. Jam murmured something in his sleep. We froze, holding our breaths. He balled his fists, then turned to face the wall. Not another sound or movement came from him. We sighed in relief.

"I'm going to go take a shower. I didn't get the chance to shower since Gravity Falls." Will said. He removed himself from the bed and left the room. Huh. What to do?

I should keep up my end of the deal with Bill. Knowing his kind, if I don't do it there will be consequences. What consequences, I'm not sure. I just know that it never ends well.

'Don't forget our deal.' I imagined him saying, his bricks lighting up as he spoke.

I left the room, and down the hallway. I took a few turns, but the room shouldn't be far. It's a little difficult to see at night, but I'm used to it. I would often come out during the dead of night and do things without fear or judgement. I could climb up a tree or hang from a window, nobody would be there to tell me not to. I've been caught a few times but I've mastered the art of eluding them.

I took a final turn down a narrow hall. At the end, an empty door frame. I stepped through, and took in the area. It was difficult to see, even with the open windows. I thought about home, my mothers, candy, ice cream... A smile graced my face as my cheekmarks glowed a faint blue. It wasn't very strong but it will suffice. It was a circular room, with a high domed ceiling above. Spider webs and dust were plastered on the walls. Strings of plants grew from the cracks and windows. The most noticable of all was the majestic chandelier, hanging askew with teardrop shaped crystals blurred with dust.

Bill's image had shown the flower growing on one of the the windows. I my eyes searched them, and quickly found what I was looking for. I jogged over to the window where the flower sat. It looked like an average plant, with blade shaped leaves and a single bloom. Many gold tipped petals grew out from the fuzzy lavender center. The stone bricks it grew on was cracked, as if struck with a hammer. This is the one.

I tried plucking the flower, but it didn't budge. What kind of super strong flower is this? Cold rain wept from the open window. The wet, knife shaped leaves reflected the light of me cheek marks, making it look almost like an actual knife. A leaf knife! It might be able to cut through the stem! But no... it is just a leaf. But it is worth a shot, right? I bent the stem downward, and pressed the edge of the leaf to the stem. Clear goop dribbled out of the piont of contact. It worked!

Something snaked around my wrist, and on reflex, I tore my hand away. What was that!? Another one wrapped around my other wrist, and this time I wasn't so lucky. I tried to yank my hand away, only for my wrist to be pulled back, forcing me away from the flower. I whipped my head towards my opponent. My stomach dropped. A writhing mass of teal vines and leaves crawled up the window, snake like and creeping towards me. Panick coursed through my veins. I pulled harder, but it was no use.

I tried to run but more vines caught my ankle, and I fell painfully onto the cold, hard tiles. It crawled up my calves, dragging me away from the flower. No! My heartbeat pounded in my head like dramatic music heard in a movie when the villain comes on. I scrabbled at the slippery tiles uselessly.

Okay Nyx, just calm down and think... think... My left hand was still free. If I can't run away I just have to defend myself. But I can't fight like Mommy can... Yes, that's it! I took out my wand and pointed it at the hellish plant. More specifically the vines holding me down. "Firebow!"

A rainbow ribbon swam out of my wand. It twisted and turned around the vines, prismatic flames erupting from anything it touched. In an instant, it let go. I gasped and shuffled backwards as fast as I could. The plant moved quickly, escaping into the storm outside. The rainbow fizzled away with each drop of rain.

I lept to the flower, slashed it with its own leaf, grabbed it and ran. I ran, not stopping to look back. I ran, imagining that abomination chasing me through these halls, wanting to finish its unfinished business.

Eventually, I dashed out into the corridors. I looked back, no, it wasn't chasing me. I leaned on the wall, my chest heaving. My cheek marks flickered unsteadily, before going dark. Looks like it won't be glowing anytime soon. I ran a hand through my hair. Holy shit, a sentient plant just tried to murder me! For what? Another plant? But there's no use of freaking out over it. I have a deal to fufill.

I looked around. Oh. Queen Galaxia's room should be here. I went futher down a few doors. Some had paintings hung on them, mostly of the Queens of Mewni. One of them depicted a wheatey, pink haired lady with vortexes on her cheeks. 'Just like mine!' I thought, putting a hand to my own cheek marks.

I turned the doorknob and entered. It was pitch black, and all I could see were tall, imposing shadows. I whispered a light spell, and it lit up like a fiery torch. I held it up, its light shedding on the dozens of shelves were lined up in the white room. They were mostly filled with old scrolls and parchments, segregated by type. Queen Galaxia was a seer, so she wrote everything she foresaw on paper. To this day, her prophecies come true. Most of the time. There were other stuff stored here too, like jars of liquids, bones, dead plants, ect. It was creepy, yet, kinda cool. These things were the stuff I use for my alchemy back at home.

Time to get to work. I explored the shelves and their residents. My light reflected off of the many vials and jars. That jar with the greenish - gray goop and an eyeball... I scanned the shelves for it. Why would Bill want me to put this flower into that liquid? It's just a flower. A super strong one at that. Maybe something magical will happen? Maybe it'll do something good for all of Mewni! Yeah!

Gray liquid. I stopped. Raising my wand to the container, I observed it closely. An eyeball swam in the dark sludge. This is it. I put my wand between my teeth, stood on my tip toes and reached for it, my fingers grabbing hold of the glass surface. I twisted the lid open. The yellow, reptiallian eye floated in its thick pool, and it blinked. Whoa, cool!

I picked the flower from my pocket. Its stem is smooth and silky. A faint smell wafted from it, soft, yet, strong. I looked back at the eye that was currently staring at me. Oh well. Here goes nothing. I dropped the flower into the jar. I watched, anticipation humming through me. What will happen what will happen... Aaand...

A minute. Then two. The goop stayed still, eyeball still blinking at me. Why is nothing happening?! Is this the great thing Bill wanted? Nothing? I blew a raspberry out of boredom. Maybe this reaction will take a while. Impatient, I left it to itself. 

I should go back to the bedroom. It'll be sunrise soon and people will be waking up. Maybe Will is still awake. I opened the door and left Galaxia's room. Leaving, I swore I heard nasal, high pitched laughter in the distance. But I paid it no mind. I didn't want to think about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She struck a deal with Bill! His request sure is strange. Maybe it might come to be something more. ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Linnie uses they/them pronouns. I hope it doesn't get confusing.

"So, how's the spell going?"

"Can you call the others here? We're almost finished." I asked. The last time I called them, it took at least twenty minutes for everyone to get here. For some reason everyone is almost never in the same place. Probably off doing their own thing or something.

"Again?" Linnie pouts. They turn on their heel and leave to get the others.

I glance at the picture presented on the phone screen and an illustration on a sheet of paper. Both resided on the floor for easy checking. The illustration showed a sketch of the spell's design while the phone described its components. I picked a chalk from a collection, cesium white mixed with shining pink. I walked over to the drawing on the floor. It was highly detailed, with geometric shapes and symbols etched onto the floor. It was just like the last one, but this time it was secured with spells to keep it intact.

I walked to the edge of the spell, kneeled on the drawing, careful not to touch the drawn lines. I flick my wrist, patterns coming to life at the movements. A trail of peachy white followed suit, mimicking the sketch. Nyx stuck candles to specific points on the tiles, eyebrows knit in conentration. I can't wait to go back home. Mom and dad are probably so worried by now. Hopefully, I make it in time for the release of Love Sentence's new album: Loving You. I smiled a little at the thought.

This went on for some minuites until the spell was finished. By then, Linnie has brought everyone here, ready to fix the timelines. All except for mom.

"So this is finished?" Fiametta asked. She fiddled with a lock of dark red hair with one hand while the other was stuffed into the pocket of her jeans.

"Yes." I said. She nodded, a little too quickly to be natural. Her eyes flickered back and forth nervously. I gave an encouraging smile to her. "I know that you're scared but we can't all exist in the same timeline. And hopefully your mom won't be as angry as you think."

"I doubt it. Mom has a really high temper. She'll ground me for a millienia! I don't want to be buried beneath the soil!" she feared, pacing across the floor. Her steps left blackened scorch marks on the ground.

"What? No, Hekapoo isn't going to bury you, that's not what a grounding is!" I deadpanned. I tried to explain to her what a grounding is, and tried to ease her nerves. Yet, we kept on squabbling like ducks. It was almost comical. In our quarrel, we hadn't noticed the screams from downstairs. Only when a crash boomed from below did we stop.

Fia looked at me, eyes wide, as her smoke came to an abrupt stop. "What was that?"

I didn't answer her question. I sprinted towards the source of the sound. Out in the corridor was a gaping hole that went down several floors. The edges were scorched, as if something exploded out of the castle. The others caught up. Upon seeing the break, their expressions morphed into that of shock.

Screams of terror echoed in the small huts of the peasants. Fire swallowed house after house, bitter smoke climbing into the sky. Out of the flames and ashes, a figure rose. A lizard-man in a business like attire rose into the sky. His hair was slicked back and black, and skin a dark, even, gray. Toffee. But something wasn't right. He was flying. I don't recall septarians being able to fly. Several forks and other items were impaled in his skin. But what was most noticable about him was his eyes. Pure molten gold with a slit pupil. It was bizarre, to say the least.

He threw his head back grotesqley and laughed, a high pitched echoey noise that made me want to plug my ears. His arm extended, palm facing a cluster of houses. A blue beam exploded from his claw, smiting the innocent houses. Shattered house bits sprayed everywhere, causing the vallagers to scream and scatter. I balled my fists, anger flooding my body. How could he! Those are people, innocent people! I don't know how he came back to life, but I'm not going to let him hurt them!

"It's Toffee, the guy from dad's stories..." someone says. My peers stop and stare, frozen in shock. Jam arms himself with his futuristic gun. Was he carrying that this entire time?

Beside me, Nyx flinched. Her shoulders shot up, like a frightened cat. "That voice... Oh no no no no no..."

"Guys, we have to go save those people!" I exclaimed. "We can't let them get hurt!" I poised my wand, ready to summon cloudy and ride into battle. A tan hand lowered my wand, stopping me.

"No, Elizabeth. I'll be the one to fight him. You get as many people as you could out of here." said Nyx.

"By yourself? That's suicide! We must-!"

"We can't! He's an immortal and..." her voice faltered. "Just look at him! He can fly, shoot stuff,- oh look he's consuming their souls now," she stared at some people floating above the wreckages, their eyes a black void. "We can only buy us time to evacuate the population. And this is all my fault!" She shouted.

I was taken aback by her last statement. I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Bill.... I set Bill free! This is my fault and I don't want other people getting hurt because of me! Just let me FIX MY MISTAKE!" Her electric blue eyes were now glassy with unshed tears. I drew in a sharp breath. I've never seen Nyx like this before. She has always been optimistic and rarely took things seriously. But this? Blaming herself for Toffee? This isn't like her.

She never lied about who she was or hid what she was feeling. And if this is what she was feeling, then this is worse than we thought. If the situation isn't already bad enough.

"Please, just let me do this." she whispred. I wanted to tell her this isn't her fault, ask her about whoever Bill is, tell her that I should do it. She's a scientist, not a soldier. I am the one who can fight, I'm adept with a short sword. But seeing her guilt and raw emotions, it got to me. I know she would make a good distraction. What other option do we have?

Jam put a hand on my shoulder. "Elizabeth, we're losing time." I wanted to protest, but he's right. More time spent arguing with her, more people get hurt. Not only that but she's notoriously stubborn. When she wants something, she'll get it. But I don't know how she would want this.

I slowly nodded. "Okay. We'll talk about this later." Her only reply was to open another one of the vials and arm herself with her wand. She popped open the lid, dump the contents in her mouth, and leaped off the edge. For a second I was unable to move. Did she just... commit suicide? A winged figure shot into the sky, wings as dark as midnight. I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Mewberty Nyx made a beeline for Toffee, wand now in one of her four hands.

I turned to my friends. "Okay guys. We gotta evacuate the people to somewhere safe, like this castle."

"Are you insane!? You think this castle could save them all? Just look at that hole!" Will screetched, gesticulating to the gaping maw.

"I have to agree, we need someplace Toffee can't get to." Jam spoke from the back.

"Maybe another dimension?" Fia suggests. "Hopefully, if he doesn't have dimension opening powers, we can open a portal somewhere and get people to go through. Maybe somewhere like... Earth!" Her eyes shone at the prospect.

"Yep. Okay, maybe we should split up. I'll go warn mom and dad while you go open some portals to Earth somewhere in the lobby or outside, where people can easily go." I said. They nodded, and together, moved through the hall away from me. Except for Jam.

"I'm coming with you." Jam said.

"What? Fine, we have to move quickly." I said. I didn't have time to think about his strange request. Where is mom most likely to be... Knowing her, she's probably off going on adventures in another dimension with dad. But maybe her room would be a good choice. That's where she sleeps after all, right?

"This way!" I ran down the corridor and up a flight of stairs. Mom's room was close to ours, so it won't be hard to find. I kept going, occaisionally checking if Jam's keeping up, which he did. He's a fast runner. I stopped abruptly when two figures appeared from a turn.

It was mom and Linnie. Linnie hugged some sort of potted viney plant against their blouse, which was obviously borrowed from mom. "Hi, I'm back. I found this cool plant walking around the halls and it wasn't looking too good so I- "

"No time! We need to evacuate all of Mewni!" I say. The two of them looked at me, an eyebrow raised.

"Why?" Mom asks.

"Toffee's back! He's burning all the houses and sucking up souls!" I said. Her muscles tense up. Her knuckles are white against her wand.

"He's back?! How?" She asks.

"I don't know! Now hurry, we must find a way to bring everyone to Earth! Nyx can't hold him off for long..." I stated.

"Okay." Mom said. "You three open the portals, I'll sound the alarms." We nodded, and she dashed down the hall without another word.

We hurried down muliple flights of stairs, into the lobby, and out of the castle. My heart pounded in my chest. At the entrance were several portals with people flooding in each. Fia was trying to keep the portals open and wide. Landon was crouched down, comforting a crying little girl. I walked over to him.

I crouched down beside the child. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She sniffled, and rubbed the sleeve of her dress against her nose. "My mommy and daddy... I - I can't fi - ind them..." More tears rolled down her chubby cheeks. A pang of sympathy throbbed in my chest.

"Don't worry kid, we'll find them. We have to." Landon said. "And I'm sure they'll be very happy to see you." I've never heard him speak so gently. He looked at her with genuine worry and care, something I've never seen him express like this until now.

"I'm sure you'll find your parents on Earth, everyone's going there." I said.

"Really?" The girl's eyes lit up with hope.

"Really. And Landon can bring you there and help you find your parents." I looked at him. He looked suprised, but he didn't say anything about it. He simply nodded and smiled at her. She stared at him for a second before nodding back. He stood, and helped her up. He led her to the portal, holding her hand as if they were family. It was sweet, until a voice called out from the heavens.

"Hey! I got some of the souless, should they go to Earth too?" Will shouted. In his hand were ropes that leashed a sizable group of floating people. They all had void black eyes, faces perpetually agape. Just looking at them sent a shiver down my spine.

I tore my eyes away from them. "Yes. We can heal them!" I answered. At least I hope so. I watched as he took out his scissors and sliced another portal above him. He released the ropes, letting the people float up to Earth. "I'll go find more and bring them to Earth." He said and flew away.

Horns sounded from the castle towers. Knights on horses galloped into the kingdom, wooden carriges trailing behind them. Some of them carried large buckets of water, presumably for the fires going around.

I summoned cloudy and hopped on him. "Let's find some people, Cloudy!" He giggled and flew up into the sky. I had a bird's eye view of everything here. The smoke from the smoldering rooftops wafted into my face. I coughed it out of my lungs. I tried to find Toffee and Nyx, but they were nowhere to be found. It was as if they dissapeared off of the face of Mewni. As we flew across the sky, the people rode on the carridges from the castle. Good thing they have an alarm system. Or else this would be a lot harder.

I summoned more cloudies to bring the people the the castle. I tried to take as many as possible. Monsters, mewmans, balloonified people, even some animals. I helped some people out of their burning houses. But there was no time for slowly. We need everyone out, NOW.

I collected many balloonified people and tied them with my wand. There were too many of them, and they were slowing Cloudy's flight. The streets were much emptier than before. "To the castle!" I commanded. We glided downward to my home. Once we were at the gates, I hopped off and brought the group to one of the portals.

"Come on, everyone!" It went from a whole crowd of them to a steady stream of them escaping to Earth. We gathered as many as we could find. Soon, there was only the eight of us, including Mom and Dad and the occaisional person.

"Toffee is heading this way. We have to leave." Jam said. He had just come back from hunting down some of those who had been balloonified and had tied them down with string. Several frightened people were at his tail. They ran through the portals to Earth.

"But there are still many people that need to be saved!" I protested. I could still see several people in the distance.

"We don't have time! Quick, into the portal!" Dad said. I let them go first. In case Toffee comes, he'll have to deal with me. Once everyone else was in, I surveyed the area for anyone. I stepped through the portal to Earth.

A thought struck me. Nyx. Where is she? The portal was still open. A boom thundered from it. Toffee. I spun on my heel and stepped a foot back to Mewni once again.

Dust and haze obscured my vision. Cracks formed on the ground, leading up to a shadowy figure lying in the center. As the wind swept away the dust, my vision cleared. The figure had two pairs of arms. Her midnight black wings were burnt and shredded, incapable of flight. Black hair fanned around her, smoldering at the edges. I squinted to get a better look at her. Her head lifted, her eyes meeting mine. Only now did I realize who she was. No...

A shadow approached from further away. As it came closer, I could make out a tall, lizard like figure. Posture perfect, Toffee came into view. He was covered in bruises and wounds which healed rapidly. But he was different. His eyes were no longer molten gold, but more normal yellow irises with a round pupil. He gave off an aura of superiority and intelligence, but it was no less intimidating than his manic behavior.

He advaced towards Nyx, sight trained on her. Green glowed from his palm. The girl's battered wings fluttered feebly and she scrabbled at the dirt, unable to move. No...

"NO!!" My feet pounded the gound in an effort to get to them. Nyx shook her head and pointed her wand at... me? Her lips moved. The spell hit me squarely in the chest, forcefully sending me flying back throught the portal, into Earth. I fell on my back and skided till my head hit something hard. My cranium pounded, vision turning black at the edges. My ears rang painfully as mom came into view along with some people I couldn't make out. She shook my shoulders and said something, her teeth grinding. But she vanished along with everything else, consumbed by the blackness as I lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So y'all, apologies for not getting this out earlier. And for the cliffhanger. Things have been busy and there's school so... yeah. There's exams coming up and I need to focus on my studies. I've also got writer's block and I just don't have any motivation. I want to finish this story but I don't think I can, for now. I'm put this story on hiatus. I don't know when I'll start writing again. But when I do, I want to have all the chapters finished by then. I hope that y'all have enjoyed the story so far.


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